With construction of the new Okotoks Public Library well underway, with it comes a new approach to teenage engagement.
The library’s application for the Government of Alberta’s Community Initiatives Program grant was approved for what the library director Lara Grunow calls a teen lab.
“It's going to be three distinct areas that will have a collaboration space, a quiet space and an engagement space,” Grunow said. “So, what that means is that it's going to have a workshop with furniture, equipment, books and supplies that will encourage teens to explore new skills, creativity, collaboration, and hopefully benefit community engagement.”
Grunow said the $50,000 from the matching grant will be used for various tools such as video game consoles, coding equipment, animation software and a recording booth.
“Libraries aren't just about books anymore, especially for teens and younger people,” said Grunow. “They want to have access to the technologies that they're going to be using in the future.”
It couldn't come at a better time as there will be a few more teens at the library centre in the future as it is part of the Okotoks Arts and Learning Campus.
"With St Luke's being in the same building as us, along with Cameron Crossing school moving into the old library, we're all going to be part of the campus together, so we'll be able to, we'll be able to see more teens in the library using our resources," Grunow said.
The library has been worked closely with teenagers and young adults to make the future space as inviting and interesting as possible for the younger population of Okotoks, she added.
“We're saying it's for teens, but some of this equipment and stuff will be used for, you know, probably for the juveniles and for adults as well. If somebody wants to learn how to record a podcast they could come,” said Grunow. “We'll teach them how to use the recording equipment, and then maybe they come once a week or once a month and they can use the library or sound studio to host their podcast.”
Grunow hopes that having a dedicated space in the new facility will help teens in the community feel like they’re being catered to, especially those interested in creative pursuits or STEM fields such as coding, just as they hope to be able to provide something for everyone in the community.
“We're super excited to have gotten this grant and we're going to do our best to make sure that we provide, the teen lab with the equipment and collection and everything else that is what the teens and Okotoks and the foothills county need,” said Grunow.
While the teen lab may not be entirely outfitted the day that the new library space opens its doors, Grunow expects that it will be mostly, if not entirely, outfitted by the end of this year.
