Morgan teens are being invited by the library to be overbooked 

Betty Rothschild, the Youth Services Librarian at Morgan County Library, has some fun things in store for the new year. Currently, the library wants to expand its target audience to middle school and high school aged patrons. Although the addition of the teen room has been popular among the youth of Morgan County, activities like Storyhour and Lego Club don’t exactly appeal to the interests of the older age group. 

Now teenagers will be able to interact cohesively with their peers and enjoy the activities the library has for them to participate in each week. Rothschild’s plans are going to start in early January, starting with weekly teen club activities. The title of this teen club will be “Overbooked,” and it will be held at Morgan County Library every Monday at 3:30 p.m. It is specifically designed for ages 13-18. “Overbooked is a place where all teens can come together and relax from daily stresses by creating crafts, discussing books and playing games,” said Rothschild. The library would like to emphasize that suggestions for activities are always welcome.

In addition, every second Monday of the month, the library will be hosting a teen book club titled “Read Between the Lines.” Read Between the Lines will also be intended for teenagers 13-18. Every month, the members will vote on a new genre and can choose any Young Adult or Junior Fiction book under that designated genre. The following month, the members will discuss what they read and do a related activity. 

According to Rothchild, these future activities will all have an overall goal in mind: “to gather people from different backgrounds, talk about common interests and share book recommendations with each other.” Morgan County Library has always made its intentions clear: a desire for everyone to read more and expand their imaginations. This club will put teenagers first and foremost, and their suggestions will always be welcome.

 “Teenagers need a safe space to hang out and be themselves without any academic or societal pressures,” said Rothschild. “I am looking forward to these club meetings and hope that many teens will come to explore their imaginations and laugh with me as we do ridiculous trivia games and talk about different fictional worlds.”