NYPL - What will your avatar look like?

Today marked my first working day in NYC. I left my hotel and walked the 11 blocks to the mid-Manhattan branch of the NYPL. Never one to be walking in the heat generally, today I think I may have smiled all the way. It's a huge buzz to be walking to work in NYC. I spent the morning with the fabulous H. Jack Martin - Assistant Director for Public Programs and Lifelong Learning. Huge title. Jack is an amazing inspiration and someone who offers a whole world of funky and fun programs for young adults. He and his team program an unbelieveable 25,000 programs across the library service annually (for all ages). With 89 branches, it's a very large public library service, and this is a great achievement with the team of approx. 8 staff who do this. We discussed public and private funding, the importance of young adults as library trendspotters and the 'fabulousness' of young people in general.

Jack showed me examples of the most popular programs which include the Anti-Prom (700 young people attended), Project NYC, Emoticon (Youth digital technology festival), HomeworkNYC and one of the most popular, the Summer Read (see Jack in person on the video). The NYC Summer Read program is amazingly interactive, with points gained for activities other than reading books. What a fantastic idea. Points can be earned for reading online, reading magazines, time spent gaming, listening to music amongst others. Everyone who signs up remains anonymous and can create their own avatar which can interact with other avatars. Online badges are rewarded for time spent reading and it's a great way to invite young adults into the virutal library. In fact what it means is that they actually invite the library into their world of social networking and interaction - there is a way to make contact. The acknowledgment that this is how young adults want to achieve is a huge step forward for public libraries and clearly there has been some very creative thinking. Currently the NYPL has 40 teenage advisory groups meeting across the service who meet weekly and discuss many issues from emerging technology, collection wants, programs and general chatting.

Global Kids as well as the Search Institute are both extremely important to the success of the teenage programs across the NYPL, and Jack explained the natural partnerships which form when organisations have like goals.

We acknowledge of course that the NYPL has a global 'face' and is the recipient of many private grants and has many benefactors. It is still the commitment from people like Jack and his staff which makes programs such as this possible. Money may be available, but to have so many young adults becoming involved in the library programs is what matters.

Meeting with Jack and hearing about what is possible has provided huge motivation and has given me so much to think about. Tomorrow I will be visiting some of the branches housing teenage programs, including Teen Central at the Grand Central branch. I'm looking forward to seeing the branches in action.