Lynn library room puts teens in control

LYNN – When a friend asked Meegan Robertson two years ago if she wanted to hang out at the library, the Classical High School student quickly dismissed the suggestion as uncool and anti-social – but that was before Robertson discovered Quaranteen.Tucked into one of the North Common Street library’s side rooms, the teen-run program is packed with high-technology toys and learning tools that attract at least 15 students who hang out eight to 10 hours a week in Quaranteen.”It’s fun and all my friends are here,” said Robertson.Library young adult services head Katelyn Cole is on hand when teens meet in the library, but it is the students – not Cole – who picked out the teen room computers, painted the room and who choose activities when they meet in the library.The students are paid $8 an hour for their participation with money from a $94,000 MacArthur Foundation grant Chief Librarian Theresa Hurley and Cole helped obtain. Quaranteen is a place to have fun, but Hurley said it is also where teens like Robertson, Diana Sharifi and Breed Middle School student Briseyla Pascual experiment with the technology that plays a big role in their lives.Technology is available in schools and hand-held technology is a major component of teenage life, but Cole said many local teenagers don’t have access to computers.”We want to introduce teens to new technology,” she said.The grant money paid for 15 iPads used by the students and tentative plans call for adding a closet-sized sound studio and a three-dimensional printer in Quaranteen. Sharifi and other teens recently surveyed 400 fellow students to learn about interests they don’t have opportunities to pursue at home or in school but might want to explore in the library.”I’m surprised by how many kids said they would come by,” Robertson said.Quaranteen participants plan to make a presentation to City Council members in June in advance of a request for money to pay for an additional adult supervisor to help Cole. Robertson said Quaranteen’s goal is to allow teens “to mess around and find out what you like to do.”Majolie Tchoumi and her friends said after-school activities for teenagers – not including work – are available in school and are offered by local organizations, but many of the programs are structured and focused on a particular activity or sport.”It’s important to have a place where you can be yourself with your friends,” said Tchoumi.