Dia de los Muertos for the Teens

In our library every afternoon these large groups of Hispanic teens come in and hang out. They sit and talk, never read a book, attend a program, rarely get on the computer; the library is just a hang out place for them. I have tried to invite them to programs but they look at me in a mixture of annoyance and confusion when I ask them to come.

Recently I communicated with other librarians in the state on possible ideas to get the Hispanic teens involved. They offered some good ideas but the main response I got back was "don't bug them."

However, finally I got the Hispanic teens interested in something! This week we celebrated Dia de los Muertos or "Day of the Dead" at our library. It is a holiday celebrated in Mexico around the same time as Halloween. One of our staff created this wonderful display (pictured above) and the teens contributed to it. The flowers on the display are made simply with crepe paper and pipe cleaners. I offered the supplies to make the flowers to the Hispanic teens not expecting a response but they went into it enthusiastically. They created whole bouquets of crepe paper flowers.

It has made me think that maybe the key to get the Hispanic teens involved is to offer more activities ethnically centered. Perhaps my programs are too "white" for them. Why I don't know what my exact next step will be, seeing the Hispanic teens interested in something has given me hope.