Florida Public Library wins award for teen program

At the Ramapo Catskill Library System’s annual meeting on September 6, the Florida Public Library was announced as the winner of the 2024 RCLS Member Library Young Adult Program of the Year for its “Check It Out Teen Book Box” program.

The library explained that the idea came from a New York Library Association youth programming session. According to the library, the boxes are geared towards teens in grades 6 through 12. Here’s how the program worked: Teens had to complete a registration survey to help the staff pick appropriate titles. Then every other month the library would feature a themed box filled with surprises and a snack. Each box also included a book curated for each reader. Since the books are selected by library staff based on the teens’ interests, teens could read books based on their favorite genres, or branch out and try something new.

The library kicked off the program with a sports and hobbies theme filled with items such as headphones, notebook/pen, stickers and a special “decorate your own cookie.” Also included in each box was a rating card so staff could make better selections for each reader. Other box themes included Earth Day, “I Can’t Wait for Summer,” Manga/Anime, Spoooktacular Book Box, and Winter Holidays.

Advertising for the boxes included flyers, videos on both the library and teen Instagram pages and Facebook. A sample box was also on display in the Teen section of the library. The library partnered with the local middle and high school librarian to help introduce the box to a larger audience.

“Teens are an audience that we struggle to get in the library,” commented Library Director Meg Sgombick. “Since the teens have to come to the library to pick up and return their boxes, we saw some new faces in our teen section,” added Sgombick.

For more information about the library and its upcoming fall programs, visit floridapubliclibrary.org or call 845-651-7659. The library is located at 4 Cohen Circle in the village of Florida.