Youth Self-Expression Program in California Libraries
Teens document elements of youth culture
from myspace to hip-hop
Some of the Santa Monica teens who participated in the "How I See It" project
In Santa Monica, teens gave a multimedia presentation on the importance of self-expression in their lives, based on interviews with teen graffiti artists and regulars at a popular open-mike program. “We wanted people in Santa Monica to better understand why youth are involved in activities like spoken word and urban art and what it means to us,” said teen participant Desire Johnson. “One of the great outcomes of the project was that teens now know about organizations in Santa Monica where they can go to express themselves,” said Santa Monica Young Adult Librarian Erica Tang, who guided the effort.
In Fresno members of the Sunnyside Library’s Teen Council created a short film about myspace, based on interviews with library patrons, and led a community discussion about the topic. “It was a way to explain to adults why myspace is so popular,” said Young Adult Librarian Lisa Lindsay, who worked with the teens over the course of three months to make the documentary. The teens’ video and forum made the pages of the Fresno Bee and the video was seen by thousands of people on YouTube. Read an article about the project in the Fresno Bee.
In Riverside, teens investigated local garage bands, videotaping interviews with band members, and conducting Internet and library research on a range of musical genres, including heavy metal and reggae. The teens created a video from their findings, developed publicity, and gave a public presentation of their work in the Riverside Library in January 2007. “I know the kids really enjoyed the program,” said Senior Librarian Sue Struthers, “because now they want to know when they can do another one.”
In Yuba City teens focused on photographing the good and bad aspects of life in their town, which the Rand McNally's “Places Rated Almanac” consistently ranks as one of the worst places to live in the country. “Most of the kids think it’s a great place to live, but it’s getting them to realize that even though they live in a small community, they exist in a bigger nation that sees us in a certain way,” said Sutter County Librarian Steve Lim. Lim arranged to have a high school photography teacher give a Photoshop workshop to the kids before sending them out with cameras. The final event featured a PowerPoint presentation about what the kids had learned.
In San Diego, teens from five high schools created a video about hip-hop culture based on interviews with local teens and hip-hop artists. The video was featured at a February event at the main library, which also showcased a local hip-hop group and various styles of dancing. “Originally I thought we would do a PowerPoint presentation, but the group said that would be boring, and they’re the ones who drove the project,” said Young Adult Services Coordinator Marina Claudio-Perez. “They were excited about the project, and I think having a place to present their work meant a lot to them.”Interview
Felcia Kelley, manager of self-expression program
Senior Programs Manager Felicia Kelley oversaw the “How I See It” library pilot program, which gave teens a chance to research, interpret and publicly present aspects of their own culture. Here, Kelley, who is based in the Council’s Los Angeles office, talks about that experience.
How did the Council decide to develop the program?
We had started conducting research on youth programs for our new “How I See It” campaign under California Stories, and we were interested in programs that would give kids a chance to articulate their own stories and viewpoints and then share those stories with the public. We also wanted programs that would help kids develop critical thinking skills, build their confidence and give them practice communicating their ideas. For libraries, we wanted a program that would be easy to implement, flexible enough to accommodate a variety of topics, be genuinely youth-centered and youth-driven, and that would use today’s technology.
What led to the idea of having kids investigate something about their own culture?
We started by informally interviewing a core group of young adult librarians. We also conducted an Internet survey with additional librarians throughout the state.
The genesis of the idea came from Bridgid Fennell of the Glendale Public Library. She suggested a project exploring the history and evolution of hip-hop, something that had been successful in Glendale. Other librarians also expressed interest in programs focusing on popular youth activities.
For me, a lightbulb went on when I heard a presentation by fellow staffer Carlos Torres, the operations coordinator in our San Francisco office. At our last staff retreat, Carlos, a musician immersed in hip-hop culture, gave a talk on the history and styles of hip-hop using video, audio and PowerPoint slides — all based on his own research. You could tell that the subject meant a lot to him and afterwards I thought, Why couldn’t we create a project with a similar format that would give young people the tools and resources to become "humanities experts" about some aspect of their own culture and share their knowledge with others in their communities the way Carlos had done?
We took that basic idea, did additional research, made refinements and came up with several possible designs for the project. The one we chose met the criteria we had laid out.
What were the biggest challenges of the project?
There were many challenges, but conceptually, I think the most difficult was believing that youth themselves could handle a project this ambitious — that they could chose a topic, do the research, develop a public presentation, publicize the program and get an audience.
Why do you think this project is important?
Young people rarely have an opportunity to tell us how they see things. This project gives kids the support and tools to do just that. They gain experience thinking critically about a topic, developing presentations, using technology, doing publicity and speaking seriously in front of an audience about important aspects of their lives. It’s an extremely valuable experience for the kids, They feel respected and valued, and and they have contributed something to the community. I think the project shows that young people do want to be involved in their communities and do want to help make them better places to live.
You can reach Felicia Kelley at fkelley@calhum.org.