Woodland Library Teens Totally Stoked

Woodland, Wash. -- The Woodland Community Library may be small, but more and more it is a big destination for teens. Library staff are trying new things to meet the needs of those dynamic young people, including a new "Internet Waiting/Internet Winning" weekly trivia contest, and monthly (possibly bi-monthly) Teen Games Night--to rousing success.

Located across the street from the Middle School and High School, the Woodland Library is a prime place to hang out after school, do homework, and get some Internet time. The library offers one hour of Internet time per day as one of its many free services. The trouble is, you have to wait for your spot on one of the library's four Internet computers, and in a small building like this one you can run out of good places to wait. Plus some people run out of things to do while they're waiting (in spite of the fact that they're sitting in a library, which is chock-full of fabulous stories to read and subjects to explore).

Library staff came up with a solution: "Internet Waiting/Internet Winning", or IW2 for short. If you are between 10 and 19 years old, you can ask at the desk for a trivia question. All of the answers can be found in the library.

Sometimes you'll use books like the almanac, an atlas, or the encyclopedia, or you'll go to the library's rich electronic resources on the two non-Internet computers. Other answers just take a quick look in the library's catalog, or in library publications like our district brochure or our Storytime flyer. Staff can help you figure out where to look.

Write your answer on the trivia question slip, along with your name and a way to contact you if you're the winner, and turn it back in at the desk. Every Friday at 4:00 one name is drawn, and if the answer is correct, that person receives a certificate for one extra hour of Internet time.

Everybody wins: kids learn how to use the library's many tools; people waiting for the Internet have something to do; staff have the satisfaction of seeing the library open its treasures to questing young minds; and one lucky person gets that magical extra hour online.

Everybody wins at Teen Games Night, too, another new tradition for the library. Woodland Community Librarian Abbie Anderson reserves the Woodland Community Center once a month on Fridays, 6:00-8:00pm. The library provides pizza and pop, a PlayStation 2 and an LCD projector and speakers, plus games like Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero (and some board games, too), and an extra TV. Kids bring their own gear and games, and the fun begins.

"We should do this every week!" exclaimed one happy young player at the inaugural Games Night on October 12, attended by almost 30 delighted teens (and a couple parents, too). Right now the next date is November 16, but with so much enthusiasm, we just might have to do it every other week.

If teens want more to do at the library, they can come to the monthly Young Adult Advisory Board pizza and planning party (first Wednesday of every month, 4:00 in the Community Center), and the Teen Book Gab (last Wednesday of every month, 4:00 in the library). See the Woodland Library MySpace page at www.myspace.com/woodlandliberry for up-to-date information and announcements.

The Woodland Library loves its teenagers. And the feeling is mutual.