I don't know what it is about my library, but I have no shortage of male teens regularly hanging out in the teen area...and zero girls. I do have a small number who will occasionally come to a program, as well as two valiant young ladies who have braved our Teen Council. My courageous teen council girls are two of my youngest library users, and their parents won't let them come to most of our teen programs because of how frequently they end up being the only two girls in a sea of teenage testosterone.
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| My poor girls at every Teen Council meeting... |
These two not being allowed to come to programs stinks for a variety of reasons, but chief amongst those reasons is the fact that they love the library. They worked as volunteers for something like 90 hours each last summer, they regularly stay behind at programs they are allowed to attend to help me clean up, and at our end of summer volunteer party last year they ran over and hugged me, then told me they had been waiting all summer to give me those hugs. I died, you guys. How cute is that? These girls deserve to be able to come to the library as frequently as their beautiful hearts desire.
The solution to this problem, although not easy, is obvious. I need to get more girls coming to the library. So...how to do that when my teen program as it stands might as well be a clubhouse with a "no girls allowed" sign hanging on the door? I'm not sure I know, but you'd better believe I'm going to try.
