Juno Kling knew she wanted to be a librarian early in life. When she were 12, she visited a library and checked out an LGTBQ book about coming out, gay politics and other...activities.
In hindsight, Kling says the book may have been a bit too adult for a 12-year-old, but reading it helped her come out to her parents and essentially changed her life forever.
As Kling got older, she realized that with book bans and censorship, many tweens, teens and young adults wouldn't or couldn't enter a library or a bookstore and have the experience she had that allowed her to explore her identity on her own terms.
"I think [explicit books] is something parents are concerned about, but it's something that teens especially are hungry for. Their world is really expanding at that age and they're trying to find their place in the world," Kling said. "Coming into adulthood, I saw a lot of challenges against books like that, and I realized I wanted to enter the field so that people could have that same shot at self-discovery that I had."
Fast forward to today and Kling works as a teen librarian at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library in Five Points. Kling is one of three teen librarians within the Denver Public Library system, a position and set of programming the system is trying to grow in the next few years.
Kling said teen librarians like her are becoming more common throughout library systems.
From an "administrative perspective," increasing teen programming is a way to keep the whole family interested in the library.
"Libraries realized, oh, we have all these programs for kids. We are getting them really engaged with literacy and story times. Then we have programs for adults that are popular, but if we want to retain people as library users, we kind of have to provide for them in that in-between stage," Kling said.
Julia Torres, DPL's Teen Services Program Administrator, added that pushing for more teen programs and creating positions that will focus on teens' needs is a pandemic response. After years of being "displaced" from their usual environment, Torres said, creating teen rooms, making sure they have specific people helping them and adding programming is giving teens a safe space to explore, read or just hang out.
That's the reason Kling chose to focus on teens. Initially, she leaned toward working on programming for younger kids, but thinking back to her own library experiences as a teen and potentially being a part of a teen support system, drew her to the position.
Kling said she went to the library often growing up because it's one of the few places that is free and folks "can just exist." Offering that type of environment to teens is essential, Kling said, because teens are not a one-size-fits-all group. Some want to be left alone. Others want to hang out. Some are interested in reading and others may not be. But it's all OK to do there, and that's the message Kling is hoping teens receive.
Kling, in particular, is also hoping that message is received among the unhoused teen population that visits Blair Caldwell.
That branch is close to Urban Peak, a homeless services nonprofit for youth, so Kling said many of the residents and participants at Urban Peak stop by often. Kling said at base level, teens -- regardless of their housing situation -- may just want someone to listen to them.
"I think just getting to know them is really important," Kling said. "Hearing their stories and figuring out what might appeal to them and also just frankly asking them, what do you want...There's no pressure to do anything or buy anything. I think a lot of people who come here to Blair, they just want a place to come and just relax for a little while. I think people put a lot of focus on libraries being a place where somebody can apply for jobs or beef up their resume, which I think is important, but I think it's equally important to have a place someone can just come and relax and spend a little bit of time out of their life and just heal and recover."
Kling set up a cozy, fun spot so the teens have just that. On the first floor of Blair Caldwell, the teen room is bright and chill. There are art supplies and ample gaming systems. Basic hygiene and safe sex products are also available. There's a huge couch and lots of floor space to lounge on and desk space for school work (or not). Kling said her favorite part of the room is the glass window on which teens are encouraged to write or draw.
Kling said they draw, write notes or simply write their names, marking their existence.
"It's covered in their names, which for me is a huge win," Kling said. "I wanted them to take ownership of the space and they've literally written their names onto the space."
Here's where teens can find some support from librarians like Kling and how DPL's teen services might grow.
DPL's other two teen librarians work at the Montbello and Bear Valley branches. Torres said those branches also have dedicated teen spaces.
The Central Branch, once construction is completed, will have an entire floor dedicated to teens similar to their children's wing with gaming spaces and a music studio, just to name a few amenities.
Torres said DPL has plenty of opportunities for teens to engage through reading programs or volunteering. There's the Teen Advisory Board that's set across five branches, where teens meet and give librarians advice on what they're looking for from the library. Those branches are Park Hill, Sam Gary, Green Valley Ranch, Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales and Hampden. Any teen is welcome to join. Torres said the program is undergoing some administrative changes to make it more cohesive but the more sign ups the better.
There's also different reading-based programs for teens. There's book clubs and TeenTober, a nationwide program that promotes teen reading in October, particularly in the scary, creepy category (Think "Mexican Gothic" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia). Torres said teens should also look out for different mixers focused on YA romance-core books, like David Yoon's "Super Fake Love Song."
Kling said the space at Blair Caldwell and the other teens spaces across DPL are available at all times. Teens are also invited to venture around of course because that's that the library is essentially about, right? Perusing. Relaxing. Maybe reading. Or maybe a game of "Call of Duty." Oh and if you want to know what slightly risqué book Kling checked out in her youth, you'll just have to visit her library and ask what it was.
"The library is a choose your own adventure experience," Kling said. "You can come in, you can stay, you cannot stay. You can talk to people. You can not talk to people. You can spend the whole time with your face in a book, or you can play Fortnite for four hours. I would tell them to be open-minded and open to crafting whatever experience they want out of the library. We're generally open to help them meet that."
