LEWISTON —For years, the Lewiston Public Library had little to occupy its teenage patrons aside from books and magazines.

There was no program to encourage reading like in its children’s room, no organized events to create a sense of community like it did for adults. No librarian was dedicated to middle- and high-schoolers, and it showed. The kids were often bored, loud and disruptive.

“It was pretty crazy,” said Ellen Gilliam, library deputy director and reference librarian, who inherited the situation when she took her job five years ago. “From day one it was a concern of mine because there are so many of these kids and they need help. They deserve, just by virtue of their sheer numbers as part of the user population of the library . . .  some special attention.”

Enter Molly Ladd.

For the past year, the 23-year-old AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer has served as a de facto teen librarian. She created an art night for the teens, a reading program, a writing group and a free summer camp. She helps them with their homework. They go to her for advice. Once a stranger who couldn’t be trusted — many teens refused to tell her their real names when she first arrived — Ladd has become a mentor to them.

“They’re not at loose ends and they know there are people here who care about them,” Gilliam said. “That’s huge with kids.”

AmeriCorps VISTA members are similar to Peace Corps volunteers. Both help communities, families and children in poverty and both try to help in ways the community can sustain once the volunteer leaves. But while Peace Corps volunteers help in developing countries, AmeriCorps VISTA members work in the United States.

The Muskie School of Public Service in Portland manages the 24 AmeriCorps VISTA members who work with children in Maine. Ladd is the only one they’ve placed in a library in the past 10 years.

For her 40 hours of work a week, Ladd earns less than $11,000 a year, plus $4,700 she can put toward school loans or future educational expenses. The small paycheck, however, didn’t affect her dedication

“It’s really an adventurous journey. She dove in,” said Chip Curry, project coordinator with the Muskie School.

When Ladd, a Bates College graduate originally from Somerville in Lincoln County, started at the library, the teenagers didn’t trust her. They refused to tell her their real names, then giggled at her when she called them by the ones they’d made up. Few showed up for scheduled activities. Ladd created a survey to try to determine what the kids wanted, what they needed. She discovered that the inner city library was more than a place to grab a book or look up information for school. It was their place to socialize.

“In a way, it’s almost like a default youth center,” Ladd said, adding, “I just kind of went with it.”

She created Teen Art Tuesdays, giving young adults a three-hour period in which they could drop by and work on an art project as a way to release stress, develop a talent or just have fun. She started a monthly movie program, an anime club and a reading program that encouraged teens to read over the summer by giving out prizes.

With other VISTA members, she created a free summer camp for children and teenagers, taking them on field trips to the Maine Maritime Museum and other places they likely wouldn’t have been able to visit otherwise.  She helped the teenagers with their homework.  She became a mentor to teenagers who needed someone to talk to.

Sahara Abdi, 13, of Lewiston, appraised the teen room as “pretty good.” She joined Teen Art Tuesdays and a twice-monthly writing group Ladd created.

“We have some interesting stuff to do,” she said.

Not every one of Ladd’s programs has proven successful. The writing group started off well, but membership dwindled over time.

“It kind of fell apart,” Ladd said.

Still, the overall numbers show success. Two hundred kids participated in Ladd’s programs. While fewer than 40 teens completed her survey last year, twice as many participated in a follow-up survey.

The library will have Ladd for this school year, her second. After that, it will be up to the AmeriCorps VISTA leaders to decide whether the library gets someone for a third year.

Ladd isn’t sure what her own future will be. She majored in environmental studies at Bates and she’d like to attend graduate school for that. In the meantime, she’s pushing forward with more goals and new ideas for the library. She’s proud of the popular art night and the summer camp, but she’s most proud of something else.

“Building relationships with the teens,” she said.

ltice@sunjournal.com

Pizza and prizes for teens

LEWISTON — A series of special library orientation sessions for teens will take place starting Tuesday, Sept. 7, from 4 to 4:30 p.m. in the Teen Room on the second floor of the Lewiston Public Library. 

Youths ages 13 to 18 are invited to any of the five orientation sessions to learn about teen-specific programs and services at the library. They will also have a chance to provide feedback on how the library can better serve the needs of its teens and young adult patrons by participating in an open discussion about rules and behavioral norms. 

As an added incentive, all teens who participate will be rewarded access to an exclusive pizza party on Saturday, Sept. 18, from 2-4 p.m. in Callahan Hall where several door prizes will be given to those in attendance. 

This annual event began in 2006 after more use of the Teen Room prompted library staff to investigate better ways of serving its teen population. Orientation will give teens a chance to meet the library staff, take a fresh look at the expanding collection of young adult literature, graphic novels, anime, manga and short stories, sign up to receive information about special and ongoing programs specifically for teenagers, and hear about youth-powered initiatives taking place here in the Lewiston-Auburn community.

Orientation sessions will be repeated from 4-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8;  Thursday, Sept. 9; Monday, Sept. 13; and Wednesday, Sept. 15. More information is available by contacting the LPL reference desk at 513-3135 or mladd@lewistonmaine.gov.

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