GLENDALE, AZ — A free lawnmower. An electric guitar. A seat at the table where city decisions get made.
Two Glendale high school students are learning that the public library offers all of that and more. Ella Verga, a senior, and Zeke White, a sophomore, have joined the city’s Library Advisory Board, giving teens a direct voice in how the library is run.
The two were appointed by the City Council. The library board and the Parks and Recreation board are the only city boards and commissions that include teen members.
“I think it’s really important to me that I know that I can have a seat at the table where important decisions are made, especially on something that I care about,” Verga said. “And I think that’s really important for a lot of people my age.”
Both students grew up visiting the library as young readers. Verga heard about the opening while looking to volunteer, and White’s grandmother suggested he apply.
“It’s just really cool, and it’s kind of an honor, that I can make an impact even though I’m young,” White said.
The board reviews and approves library policy changes, hears monthly statistics on programs and attendance, and weighs in on grant ideas. Deputy Director of Library Services Dawn Farrow said the teens’ perspective is especially valuable because teens are not typically heavy library users.
“We don’t want to be the library of the past with the shushing librarians,” Farrow said. “We want to be the library of the future, with the technology and the digital resources and the programming that meets the needs of our community.”
Farrow said Glendale’s four library branches drew nearly 500,000 visitors last year and circulated more than a million items. The library hosts more than 200 programs a month, including after-hours teen events like Nerf battles.
Its “library of things,” funded through a state library grant, lets patrons borrow items such as lawnmowers, ladders, tools, a KitchenAid stand mixer, and an electric guitar. The library also offers seed libraries, free museum passes, discovery backpacks with telescopes, pickleball and yoga kits, and memory-care kits for people experiencing early dementia.
White said many of his friends don’t know about those offerings. “Some of my friends think it’s just books, and that it’s boring, but it’s so much more than that,” he said.
Verga said she would like to see more community-building activities for teens and more advertising so people know what the library offers. She plans to study creative writing in college. White is considering a career as a doctor or firefighter.
Farrow said she hopes the teens will share what they learn with friends and neighbors and bring feedback back to the library. She also pointed to the board experience as a boost for college applications and resumes.
The Library Advisory Board meets the second Thursday of each month from 6 to about 7:30 p.m., rotating among the city’s four library branches. Teens interested in serving can look for notices at libraries and on the library website.
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