The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Sisters teens gathered at the library Tuesday afternoon, February 13, for an un-Valentine's/Valentine's Day party, making cards, decorating cookies and enjoying one another's friendship.

The event is organized monthly by teen services librarian Linda Olson, who has been with the Deschutes Public Library since 1994 when she started as an on-call library assistant. She spends Tuesday's at the Sisters Library, going to the middle school and high school at lunch time.

All teens between the ages of 12 and 17 are welcome to attend the monthly event.

"We try and plan activities that go with a theme," Olson said.

Paramount is coming up with an idea that the teens will enjoy. In February, the library decided to plan an anti-Valentine's theme.

"We wanted to do something fun for the teens and give it a little different slant to make it more fun. We wanted to make it sort of a quirky program, and so we just called it an un-Valentine's Day program," Olson said.

Seventh grader Noel Chen told The Nugget that she likes the program because "it just gives me something to do after school."

All five Deschutes Public Library branches in Bend, Redmond, La Pine, Sunriver and Sisters participate in the monthly teen program. Many of the ideas the librarians use come from online library discussion boards and teen library magazines.

"We're always looking out nationwide, regionally wide for fun programs," Olson said.

According to Olson, the Deschutes Public Library branches have for many years offered many activities for young children and adults. However, before the year 2000, few programs were offered for teens. Recognizing this deficiency in services offered, the boards at the various libraries decided to correct the problem.

"That's actually how they started deciding that they need to hire teen librarians. Now there's three of us," Olson said.

When Olson started the Sisters teen program over two years ago, only a handful of teens came. Now, normally 16 or 17 attend.

"For a town the size of Sisters, I consider that pretty good. Teens are very busy, and they have a lot of after-school activities. When I can get 17 teens at a program, I'm pretty happy," Olson said.

March's theme will compliment the American Library Association's Teen Tech Week, March 4-10, with a game day. Starting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6, Sisters teens will be able to play traditional board games and/or the electronic game "Dance, Dance Revolution." The event is free of charge, and snacks, of course, will be served.

"Dance Dance Revolution" requires players to jump on a four-way dance pad in sync with music and arrows on the screen. "I like "Dance Dance Revolution. It's a new way of dancing. I take dance lessons, and it helps me. It's the rhythm," said Chen.

Olson remarked that the library is incorporating the game into its programs because it helps developmentally with eye-hand-foot coordination.

Libraries throughout the country are finding that offering the game at teen events is meeting the cultural needs of their young patrons. The game, along with teaching participants to strategize and think fast, promotes coordination and keeping in time with the music.