Mar. 16—URBANA — The Urbana Free Library has long been a hangout for middle-schoolers and high-schoolers after classes wrap each day.
So librarian Joel Spencer met with some of the regular attendees to figure out what more they want from the space. Urbana Middle School students even distributed surveys among their peers, netting more than 130 responses.
Out of the discussion sprouted the Urbana Free Library’s “Teen Open Lab,” now celebrating its tenth year of teen-focused crafts, games and socialization in the ground-floor Lewis Auditorium.
“Even from its roots, it’s been very teen-led, because we want it to be,” said librarian and co-facilitator Jordan Kahle. “We want to be a place where teens aren’t someone’s student, and aren’t someone’s kid, and learn how to be who they want to be around other people.”
Local libraries have responded in recent years to growing demands for…
