Carnegie Libraries, Chris Crutcher and Book Groups

Today I am working in another Carnegie Library. This library is much like the one I work in--built in the early 1900's with funds provided by Andrew Carnegie. Both have smooth white walls with dark wood accents and arched, decorative windows. The This library is a bit more open in its layout. All of the materials are located in one room with only the bathrooms, copy machine and water fountain located in a side room that is open to the public. There is also a downstairs that has a meeting room, break room and work room and there is another workroom upstairs just off the public area. It is much smaller than mine, which has 3 rooms with materials. There is less accessibility to the library--very little parking on a fairly busy street, but also somewhat hidden--only a block from the main street. I can tell that it has already been renovated, as they have a beautiful green leafy carpet.

I had a surge of activity right after the library opened, and now things have settled down. A gentleman from the Center for Mental Health come in and ask me if I had seen anyone who looked disorganized or had poor hygiene. He said he just likes to drop in and check on things every now and then. I didn't know that this neighborhood had a lot of that...more than any other part of the city, anyhow.

I love this interview with Chris Crutcher. He is so charismatic and deals with such hurtful topics in such a real way. This quote:

"(young authors) came up afterwards and said things like, "You kind of informed me what I could write, you gave me courage to go ahead and tell the story the way it was" -- which was a hugely flattering thing."

Made me teary-eyed for some reason. Perhaps just the courage that he gives others and the hope that it gives me that there will be more reality out there with our next generation of writers. Mr. Crutcher shows by example that confusion, feelings and hard situations are ok to write about in their entirety and actually give others the courage to keep on living and overcoming. Of course, this comes from a hard-core fantasy reader. But I do read "edgy" books and I do see how important they are to young readers.

I am contemplating my first teen book group. My main concern is getting participants--how do I contact them, convince them to come and hold their interest once I do? Each of those is quite a hurdle, but I have faith. I just need a place to start. I have a list of book club books for teens that SPL has kits for; I think I can choose a few good ones.