This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/16/2016 08:30 AMJessa Franco, Scranton Memorial Library’s new teen services librarian, is turning the library into a hot hangout.
Since being hired in November, she has already created some new programs for teens. These include a Teen Writers Workshop, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) labs, a Teen Art Studio, and a Fandom Club.
“The STEAM labs are a program for teens, and each month we do a different science- or technology-based project,” Jessa says. “This month we’re doing paper circuits. We’re using conductive tape to make origami gems light up.
“The Teen Art Studio involves a different art project or art skill each month. The kids are taught a basic style or skill and they can pursue it however they like.
“Fandom Club is watching TV shows and talking about geek culture, what’s popular and why,” she says. “It’s more of a casual program, but it gives them a chance to socialize with each other and talk about what they love in a safe place.”
Under Jessa’s lead, the library has also changed its teen book club from a traditional book club to a new one called Teen Themes.
“Instead of picking a specific book,” Jessa says, “we pick a topic, theme, or genre, and they can read anything they want that fits it. That way, it meets different reading levels, different styles of work, and it doesn’t have to be reading. It can be movies or music that fit that theme, too. It really applies to all media and all people.”
Before coming to Scranton, Jessa, a Ledyard resident, worked at the Old Lyme Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library as a teen librarian, and worked in similar positions before that at libraries in Groton and Mystic. She earned a master’s degree in library and information science focusing on public libraries from the University of Rhode Island, and her bachelor’s degree was in education with a focus in school librarianship from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
Jessa lives with her parents, Patty and Ken. Her brother, Tony, is 22 and studies business at Eastern Connecticut State University with a focus on finance and accounting.
Jessa’s mom is an IT specialist for the Town of Groton, and happens to be the IT specialist assigned to the Groton Public Library.
“I kind of got into libraries between her working at the library and working with my high school librarian,” Jessa says. “That’s where I got the idea to be a librarian.”
Her dad works for Dealertrack, an online car registration company, and Jessa says he also works with computers and IT.
There’s a fifth member of the family who’s a little different from the rest.
“I have a dog named Boo, because he’s white like a ghost. He’s a Dogo Argentino. He’s adorable and a little bratty,” Jessa says. “They’re bred in Argentina for taking down mountain lions and wild boar, so he’s got all this extra skin around his neck. When he wears his collar it looks really tight because of the folds of skin, but it’s fitting the way it’s supposed to.”
Just a few months into her new position, Jessa is still going full speed ahead with new ideas and initiatives for teens (6th to 12th graders) at the Scranton Library.
“We have a lot going on right now,” she says. “I’m really trying to bump up the programming and get the teens back and involved in the library. Whatever you’re interested in, I guarantee we have something that you would like. If you’re looking for volunteer hours to build your résumé, we have the Teen Advisory Group where you can help pick out books for the collection and help with programming, and we can record hours for every meeting and event you work on.”
Jessa says she’s most excited about a new teen volunteer group called the Junior E-Navigators.
“They do technology projects while they’re in the library,” she says. “Teen tech support is part of the Junior E-Navigators, and what they’re working on right now is a mobile MakerSpace, small things that we can do. The committee itself, the Junior E-Navigators, is researching and evaluating all this different Maker equipment for robotics, coding, anything you can think of. They’re researching all the different equipment we could possibly purchase for stop-motion animation, and then together we’re going to pick out what we like and do programs for adults, teens, and children regarding this MakerSpace stuff.”
Jessa is also excited about upcoming teen robotics projects.
She says, “I’ve got a couple kids that are really excited for coding and Arduinos [an open-source platform used for building electronics projects]. It’s open to any technical level for teens to come and join this committee, because I’ve got a few that are really into this stuff, they can pick it up [quickly]. I’m not that kind of person and I’ve got a few who are like me, where they don’t have experience with robotics. We have this awesome balance of what’s realistic for the library, and the kids are fantastic at evaluating what will work.”
The teens recently finished Teen Tech Week at the library, during which they took apart computers and created computer bugs out of the parts.
Jessa says, “They spent that Monday taking all the towers apart and identifying the different parts of the computer and how they work, and learning about the history of computers. Then on that Friday, we took these very broken computers and hot glue guns and googly eyes and we made monsters out of the parts.”
In her free time, when Jessa isn’t blowing local teens’ minds about what their library can offer them, she says she likes to read.
“You can’t be a librarian and not like to read,” she says. “I try to read a little bit of everything. Right now, I’m trying to read some of the newer books that are coming out. I love fantasy, I love realistic fiction. I’m not a big fan of horror, but recently I’ve had a few teens recommend horror books to me that turned out to be really good, so I’m kind of opening my mind up to that. I don’t like being scared, and I don’t like crying. So, The Fault in Our Stars, I’ll be honest, I have not read it because I knew I was going to bawl like a child.”
Her daily commute from Ledyard is about 50 minutes, which allows her to finish an entire audiobook disc, she notes.
“It’s nice, because I get reading done. I’ll check out two or three at a time, so then if I don’t like one I’ll always have a backup.”
Learn more about the Scranton Library’s Teen Services Department on Facebook (search for “Scranton Library”), Instagram (search for “Scranton Library”), and Tumblr (search for “scrantonlibrary-madisonct”), or at www.scrantonlibrary.org/teens.
Email Melissa Johnson at m.johnson@zip06.com to nominate someone for Person of the Week.