The Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, recently announced Zionsville’s Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library as a recipient of one of its Summer Teen Internship Program Grants.
The grants, which give each winning library $1,000 to support the hiring and training of a teen intern for the summer, are funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Forty libraries received the funding, which will help libraries across the country provide training and stipends for teens that help plan and carry out summer reading programs.
“This program is a great opportunity for the library, and an even greater opportunity for the teens involved,” said Patricia VanArsdale, Hussey-Mayfield Teen Librarian. “These teens will learn how to supervise their peers, assist in managing the Teen Summer Reading Program, and take on additional responsibilities.”
Hussey-Mayfield Memorial Public Library will use the grant to hire six interns, who were chosen from a pool of Teen Volunteer Corps applicants and interviewed individually. Interns work two four-hour shifts per week and also train their peers on awarding summer reading prizes, answering questions, major projects, and serving as liaisons between Teen Volunteer Corps members and the library staff.