Teens | Déagóirí
At Cork City Libraries, teenagers can enjoy a dedicated book stock and access to our adult lending department depending on age. We have an active teen council who advise the library on the development of teen services. We also run a successful Teen Day as part of Cork World Book Fest in April.
Teen Committee
Our Library Teen Committee is made up of teenagers ranging in age from 13 – 18. They meet with the Executive Librarian for Children and Young People on Saturday afternoons. During meetings the committee discuss library services for teenagers and plan events for their peers. A particular focus of the committee is planning and running the library’s annual Teen Day as part of Cork World Book Fest. The committee also occasionally organise events for younger children, facilitating Halloween, Christmas and summer workshops on behalf of the library.
Events, Initiatives and Programmes
Teen Day is an annual event and happens in April as part of Cork World Book Fest. The idea of the day is to showcase what the library can offer to teenagers. The Teen Day programme is planned by members of the Library Teen Committee who have an active role in managing the events on the day.
We hold an annual Teen Short Story Writing competition, with the short-list and winner announced on Teen Day. Those short-listed receive written feed-back from our judge.
The Teen Graphic Novel Project gives 14 – 18 year olds the opportunity to work on a collaborative project. Young writers and artists are guided through the process from initial story idea to a finished comic that is launched on Teen Day. Workshops are facilitated by Alan Corbett and Colin O’Mahoney from Cork Comic Creators.
We work in collaboration with Cork City Council Arts Office and Ó Bheal on the annual Unfinished Book project which gives transition year students the opportunity to participate in poetry workshops. The project results in an annual publication of poetry written by participants.
Learning Resources
Local Secondary Schools can avail of class visits and are also invited to attend events throughout the school year. There is also a specialist service for students who need access to the Reference and Local Studies departments to research their Leaving Certificate history projects.
The teacher’s class card allows teachers to borrow up to 35 items to use with students in the classroom. The library offers spaces for teenagers to do homework and research projects, and for exam students to study. We provide access, with parental permission, to the internet. The library is an active learning space with workshops and events that stimulate learning and support the curriculum needs and leisure interests of children and young people.
Creative Writing Space
Cork City Libraries has a tradition of supporting the emerging young writer. As well as our annual Teen Short Story Competition we provide spaces for creative writing groups to meet.