CPL+LincolnBelmont+branch

I observed the Lincoln-Belmont branch of the Chicago Public Library system at 4 pm on a Saturday.In the hour I was there, I noticed six teenagers working on projects in the children's area. Several elementary-aged kids used the computers and ran around the stacks, and a few toddlers tore through the picture book section. It was crowded, and the children's librarian was definitely overwhelmed by parents, patrons, life in general... Perhaps that is why she deferred all of my questions to the YouMedia librarian. She did release two tidbits of interest before shooing me off: 1. CPL plans to launch mini-YouMedias in certain branches, although she didn't know when or where. 2. She maintains relationships with teenagers who "grew up" in the children's library. One of her long-time patrons came up to the desk while we were talking and pointed out the banners she had made for the librarian that summer. This leads me to believe that even though there is no physical space for teens in this particular branch, there is a sense of community for at least some of the patrons.

Flikr photos As you can see, the teen section is a few shelves along the wall. There are tables in front of the bookshelves, but adults quietly use their laptops or read at those tables. The children's section is much more suited to group work. There are playaways next to the fiction section, but the audiobooks are in the children's section. The magazine stacks separate the teen and children's sections, which results in an orphaned teen section. Between the spine labels and separation of space, it felt like the teen books were ex-communicated from the children's section. All in all, not so welcoming.