This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Palo Alto Library Builds Assets for Local Youth

The Palo Alto Library is an asset to our city in so many ways. There are the layers and layers of ways the library serves not just our youth's minds but their wellbeing.

The Palo Alto Library is an asset to our city in so many ways.  There are the obvious ways that include books, story time and librarians.  And then there are the layers and layers of ways the library serves not just our youth’s minds but their wellbeing.

As I’ve said (ad nauseam I know) our youth are our most precious resource.  They may be just 1/3 of our population but they are 100% of our future.  When we build assets in them today, they thrive into the future and, trust me, it’s all goodness.  Now back to the library, the Palo Alto Library system rocks.  They “get” the importance of the Developmental Assets and they are building assets in our youth today, everyday, tomorrow.

Since April’s Developmental Asset of the Month is #9 “Service to Others” let me start there.  The library has several ways it utilizes the time and talents of our youth and in the process it’s building the “Service to Others” asset.  For example, teens volunteer in the library doing everything from serving on the teen advisory board to shelving books to creating displays to being a “Book Buddy” by reading to younger kids. 

Find out what's happening in Palo Altowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

Of course the obvious asset supported by our libraries is #25 Reading for Pleasure and I’ve already gushed about the opportunity for youth to contribute their time and talents to the community via the library.  There’s also teen chess, photography workshops and yoga programs that allow teens to develop relationships with non-parent adults (Asset #3), and adults act as role models (Asset #14) during intergenerational programs such as Knack4Knitting and Breaking Dawn.

Find out what's happening in Palo Altowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But wait, there’s more.  In support of youth programs and youth using their time creatively (Asset #17 and #18), the library offers programs such as the Box Car Drive-In, Robot Crafty Corner and the ever-popular Books and Pizza monthly Teen Lounge.

I encourage you to check out our awesome library www.cityofpaloalto.org/depts/lib and I,of course, support our youth.

 

Come to the Project Safety Meeting Thursday, 4/26/12 (11am-1pm) at the Lucie Stern Center (1135 Middlefield, Palo Alto) and get involved.        

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?