Save Teen Central!

Hi book-type friends:

I received the below letter from a publishing colleague of mine and wanted to be sure to spread the word. Teen Central is an invaluable resource that needs your support!


Dear Publishing Friends,

As you probably know, in Fall 2008 the Donnell branch of the New York Public Library will close. It will reopen three-and-a-half years later—a state-of-the-art, but much smaller, facility. Due to size constraints, Teen Central, the portion of the Donnell that houses the young adult collection and serves as a teen hangout, will not have a place in the new library. Teen Central hosts many author events and other programs, provides free internet access to teens, and generally serves as a cool place for kids who like books to spend time.

Right now the NYPL is still deciding upon Teen Central’s fate. It may be split into two separate locations, one uptown and one downtown. That’s certainly better than nothing, but keeping a central Midtown location is very important to the teens who have come to rely on Teen Central. Why? Many of the teens who come to Teen Central are from low-income families. They live in neighborhoods with few free after-school programs. Some are gay, but they aren’t out at or close to home. Some are made fun or for being smart, or for what they wear. It’s very important for these kids to have someplace to go away from where they live, away from the people they see every day, where they can come together with other likeminded teens from all over the city.

Will you take a moment to write a brief email to Anne Hoffman, Chief Librarian at the Donnell to ask her to make a place for Teen Central in Midtown?

ahofmann@nypl.org


As children’s and young adult publishing professionals, this is our opportunity to speak out in order to save an extremely valuable institution for teen literature. Please forward this email along to others in our field.