Originally found on librarian.net.
This article in the NYT is about how one library solved its teen problem by locking the doors after school hours.
I know that this wasn't an easy decision for the librarians to make, I also feel their pain. It doesn't sound like the teens I deal with are as bad as the ones in the article but the most difficult part of my job is dealing with the teens that do come in. It's very rare that these teens use the library for its intended purpose and when they do need your help they're very ungrateful for it...they pay you back by talking back to you or vandalizing your building.
Teen programs don't work for this certain group of kids...they don't care much about that. We had DDR set up most of the end of last week...one of our teens came in and saw it was there, went over to it, did some crazy break dance move (probably interrupting the one kid that was playing on it), said some stupid ass thing to me about how he ripped up that game, and then walked out the door. Luckily I didn't see him the rest of the day...one good thing I can say about programs is that when we do have them the rowdy teens seem to stay away.
On the other hand this is a really hard thing, many of these kids don't have places they can go. A couple of kids that come in and act out in our library aren't allowed home while their parents aren't there. Many of these kids have already been kicked out of other local businesses and the library is the only place they can go. I'm not saying that their behavior is justified, I'm just saying that it's a very unfortunate situation for everyone. Unfortunately there's not much we can do...these kids need more than a few after school programs, their problems are deeper than anything a public library can do to help them. We also don't have the space to cater to teens, it's a small library and so there are times I have no choice but to be a "shushing librarian". I hate being that person.
My thoughts on closing this particular branch library after school hours are that I think they are justified to do so, if at least until they can find a more permanent solution. I don't believe that libraries are "safe places" for kids, nor should they be "babysitting services" for parents. I did used to visit my public library when I was a kid, and always by myself (my parents aren't readers like I am)...but, and I feel really old for saying this, kids aren't the same as they used to be...and neither are libraries.
