Managing the Afterschool Crowd at Your Library

The hours of 3-5pm, Monday-Friday can be a busy time for libraries. This is where libraries may get an influx of young people, and an increase in behavior incidents. But this is also a time of great potential impact, where libraries can be a safe place and reach out to teens. In this webinar you’ll hear from a former teen services librarian whose library typically had 100-150 teens most days after school. She will share her and her and colleagues’ experiences on how to manage these chaotic (and fun!) hours.

In this webinar you’ll learn:

• Teen developmental stages and how that can affect behavior
• Tips on setting policies and guidelines
• Setting and enforcing behavior expectations that make the library a place for everyone
• Suggestions on partners and programs after school
• Communication techniques to deescalate behaviors

Instructor: Carrie Rogers-Whitehead is the founder and CEO of Digital Respons-Ability, a mission-based company that educates tens of thousands of students, parents and teachers through in-person and online courses across the country. She has written two books for librarians around adolescents: Teen Fandom and Geek Programming: a Practical Guide for Librarians and the ALA-award winning Serving Teens and Adults and the Autism Spectrum: a Guide for Libraries and continues to work with teens.

This project is made possible by grant funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) administered by the State of Michigan through the Library of Michigan.