Teen Advisory Group
Join Canton Public Library's Teen Advisory Group to find out how to share your ideas for things you want to see at the library—books, movies, music or games you’d like to be able to borrow, programs you’d come to, services you’d use. This is your library, make it work for you! Because you're helping make the library a place that better serves the people of your community, joining this group is volunteering at the library, and counts for community service hours! And this is the best part--free snacks are always provided!
The Teen Advisory Group is open to Canton students in grade 9 through 12, and meets once a month on every fourth Tuesday at 3:30pm. Check the Upcoming Events for information about the next meeting, look for TAG flyers at the library and Canton High, or stop by the library and ask Ashley about it!
Below is a list of the most common tasks and activities for which teen volunteers are responsible!
Shelf Maintenance
Shelf Maintenance is the process of making sure books and materials are neatly where they belong. This is important because if things are not where they're supposed to be, no one will ever find them when they need them!
Shelving
When books and other items get returned to the library, librarians usually don't have time to put them back on the shelves right away. Instead, they go on specific carts, based on what kind of book or resource it is. Our computers will tell us and our patrons that a book is back as soon as it gets checked in, but if a book is sitting on a cart for too long then readers may not find what they came to the library to get. It's important to get the books back on the shelves as quickly as possible so people can get the books they need, and volunteers are a huge help in making this happen.
Shelf Reading
Shelf Reading is going through books on the shelves, one by one, and making sure they are in the correct order. Library patrons will often pick up books, decide they don't want them, and put them back incorrectly. This is not a problem as long as we find these mis-shelved books and put them back quickly! Otherwise, they could be missing when someone else comes looking for them.
Straightening Shelves
Ideally, volunteers should straighten the shelves as they are shelving and shelf reading, but sometimes it needs to be done on its own. It's great that people are using the library and looking through our collections, but this means that sometimes things get a little messy. It greatly improves the look and feel of the library when volunteers make sure that all the books are standing up straight and neat where they belong.
Shelf Maintenance is the process of making sure books and materials are neatly where they belong. This is important because if things are not where they're supposed to be, no one will ever find them when they need them!
Shelving
When books and other items get returned to the library, librarians usually don't have time to put them back on the shelves right away. Instead, they go on specific carts, based on what kind of book or resource it is. Our computers will tell us and our patrons that a book is back as soon as it gets checked in, but if a book is sitting on a cart for too long then readers may not find what they came to the library to get. It's important to get the books back on the shelves as quickly as possible so people can get the books they need, and volunteers are a huge help in making this happen.
Shelf Reading
Shelf Reading is going through books on the shelves, one by one, and making sure they are in the correct order. Library patrons will often pick up books, decide they don't want them, and put them back incorrectly. This is not a problem as long as we find these mis-shelved books and put them back quickly! Otherwise, they could be missing when someone else comes looking for them.
Straightening Shelves
Ideally, volunteers should straighten the shelves as they are shelving and shelf reading, but sometimes it needs to be done on its own. It's great that people are using the library and looking through our collections, but this means that sometimes things get a little messy. It greatly improves the look and feel of the library when volunteers make sure that all the books are standing up straight and neat where they belong.
Help with Collection Development
Collection development is taking care of the different collections we have at the library. This means researching, buying, displaying, and even getting rid of all kinds of materials at the library, including books, movies, music, and even artwork. Your input is valuable in making sure that the library has things you want and need, and things that you're not using are no longer taking up space on our shelves. Think we need more graphic novels? Suggest a few that you've loved, and we'll try to get more like those. Wish you could check out video games? Let us know what systems you and your friends have. You can come to the library to read reviews from professional journals, or check websites like Goodreads, Amazon, or Pinterest to find books and other things that interest you! If we know you want them, we'll be much more likely to get them and make them available to you!
Collection development is taking care of the different collections we have at the library. This means researching, buying, displaying, and even getting rid of all kinds of materials at the library, including books, movies, music, and even artwork. Your input is valuable in making sure that the library has things you want and need, and things that you're not using are no longer taking up space on our shelves. Think we need more graphic novels? Suggest a few that you've loved, and we'll try to get more like those. Wish you could check out video games? Let us know what systems you and your friends have. You can come to the library to read reviews from professional journals, or check websites like Goodreads, Amazon, or Pinterest to find books and other things that interest you! If we know you want them, we'll be much more likely to get them and make them available to you!
Write Book (and Music, Movie, Video Game or TV) Reviews
Did you really love the last book you read? Do you have a favorite TV show you wish everyone was watching? Were you disappointed in the latest blockbuster movie based on a YA book? Write a review, and we'll share it with other people your age who might be interested! You can review any book (including audiobooks, ebooks, and graphic novels) TV shows, movie, or music that are targeted to or popular with people your age. Please write about things meant for young adults (this means ages 11-18)--not children or adults.
Did you really love the last book you read? Do you have a favorite TV show you wish everyone was watching? Were you disappointed in the latest blockbuster movie based on a YA book? Write a review, and we'll share it with other people your age who might be interested! You can review any book (including audiobooks, ebooks, and graphic novels) TV shows, movie, or music that are targeted to or popular with people your age. Please write about things meant for young adults (this means ages 11-18)--not children or adults.
Plan a Program
If there's something you're passionate about, you can use the library to share that passion with others! Like movies? Plan a movie night--pick a movie that you and your friends would love to see on the library's big screen, schedule a night to show it, and make a flyer to hang up at the library and at school. What about games? Set up a night (or reoccurring afternoons) for teens to come to the libary and play games--board games, card games, video games, whatever you want and think others might want, too! Want to start a book club? Research some books that might be good for discussions! Design a flyer or a brochure that will make other people want to join. Whatever your passion is, you can find a way to share it with others at the library!
If there's something you're passionate about, you can use the library to share that passion with others! Like movies? Plan a movie night--pick a movie that you and your friends would love to see on the library's big screen, schedule a night to show it, and make a flyer to hang up at the library and at school. What about games? Set up a night (or reoccurring afternoons) for teens to come to the libary and play games--board games, card games, video games, whatever you want and think others might want, too! Want to start a book club? Research some books that might be good for discussions! Design a flyer or a brochure that will make other people want to join. Whatever your passion is, you can find a way to share it with others at the library!