The "I matter" project debuted at the Huntington Library and Huntington Station Branch on Saturday June 7th. Speeches from the project's founder Rob Goldman and local assemblymen showed support and belief in this program. Some of the most special moments were when the teens themselves went up to the microphone and said how important the project was to them and how it helped them feel like they mattered. Golden moments arise when teens are able to express themselves. As stated on the project's Kickstarter page "This project is a call for action to educate, inspire and motivate fellow students to make better decisions and to make a difference, not only in their lives but also in the lives of their loved ones and their community." Congratulations Huntington!

South Huntington Public Library's Teen Advisory Board had their end of the year ice cream party on Tuesday June 17th. Here they are pictured showing off their crazy side while they wait for ice cream sundaes and Italian ices. I was lucky enough to be a part of their Ten Minute Game Show where three teens were asked multiple choice questions about the meeting's special guest (me!). Their new executive board has been sworn in and they are gearing up for Summer Reading Club. A wager was made that if they get over 300 teens to sign up their librarian Jen Griffing will dye half of her hair either red or blue depending on what the teens choose! Thanks so much to South Huntington's TAG for welcoming me in to their party. Let's hope they have a very colorful summer!

Brookhaven Library shared their awesome Spark A Reaction book that is sitting atop one of their book displays. Made  from a discarded book it now has new life! The team over at Brookhaven used card stock as support while gluing sections of pages together. They let one section dry and then moved on to the next. After that they had bouquets of sparkling gold spindles that they glued into the binding of the book. The more sparkles the better! Thanks to Jennifer Rocco, Brittany LaValle, and Deb Domingos for sharing their creativity with us!

The Suffolk Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers invites new adults (ages 18-30) and their family and friends as well as local professionals to attend their informative meeting. The goal of the Mentor & Mentee program is to assist new adults in defining and obtaining the path to achieving their life goals. Mentors will help provide guidance and direction to new adults.

Patchogue-Medford Library

July 9th & August 8th from 7:30-9pm

Smithtown Library - Main Branch

July 21 & 19 from 7-8:30pm

This project was spearheaded by Patchogue-Medford library and is perfect for your teens who are finishing high school or are just starting college and may feel a little lost in what direction they want to take.

Not Just Tolerating Teens: Why Teens Belong in Public Libraries

July 16, 2014

All Day: 9:30AM: coffee and tea

10 - 11:30AM: Christopher Shoemaker - Director of the Rye Reading Room in Rye, NY and current YALSA President

11:45 - 12:45PM: Dr. Louis J. Corrado, PHD - Children's and Adolescent Psychologist

1:30 - 3PM: SCLS Directors Jennifer Fowler, Susan Goldberg, Neely McCahey & Jamie Papandrea - "From Youth Services to Serving All - Lessons Learned" 

Open to all, but especially valuable for building administrators, non-youth services staff & security guards. Register today with Derek at derek@suffolknet.org or here:
http://alpha1.suffolk.lib.ny.us:2081/record=g1047723~S22