There are many ways to involve young people in short or medium-term projects with libraries. In this section you will gain ideas for how to involve young people in a number of short-term projects including stock selection, shaping young people's spaces and reading promotion activities.

Short-term projects can be used in three main ways:

As follow-on activities for young people who have been involved in one-off consultations
As stand-alone activities to encourage young people to get more involved in the library
As a precursor to more sustained and embedded partnerships with young people

Follow-on activities

One of the aims of an initial consultation exercise might be to find out which areas of library services young people would like to see improved. Their suggestions can then lead on to longer projects which begin to implement these ideas. Some examples of areas that young people often suggest for improvement are:

Stock: take young people shopping for books or engage them in your usual stock selection processes

these guidelines for involving young people in stock selection

Layout : involve young people in redesigning library spaces

these guidelines and examples about young people shaping library spaces

Publicity : involve young people in designing new publicity for libraries' Young Adult services.

this case study from Dorset (Word, 46kb) where young people were involved in designing the SAFE marketing card and this case study from Kent (Word, 52kb) young people from a youth club in Kent redesigned the young people's library card.

Websites : involve young people in designing library websites and submitting reviews or information. Southend includes young people's content on their InformU website (launches new website)
Staff : involve young people in recruiting and training library staff. Young people in Newham helped to select a Young People's Librarian on the basis of a 10 minute book presentation
Reading promotion : involve young people in promoting reading to their peers Link to FTP The Derbyshire Bookpushers (Word, 96kb) are involved in promoting reading to other young people.

Stand-alone activities

The above activities could also be used as a first activity with young people who already use the library and with young people who currently have no involvement with library services.

Other ways to engage local young people who don't use the library could be:

Video-making : involve young people in making a video about the library, either to point out its shortcomings or as a publicity vehicle
Graffiti : engage local young people in decorating external walls and shutters with well-designed graffiti or murals to improve relationships and make the library more welcoming, as in the Dudley Graffiti Project (Word, 51kb)
Activity groups : involve young people in running their own reading groups or other activity groups such as computer gaming clubs
Assessing Services : involve young people in conducting an assessment of your services

Precursor to embedded participation

Before suggesting that young people become involved in programming activities and sitting on committees, it may be useful to engage their interest with some of the activities mentioned above. Once you know the young people and their interests, you will be able to recruit them into a more formal and long-term relationship with the library.

Now have a look at how you might involve young people through Sustained partnership