Meet the Marmalade Branch Teen Squad

By Yoli

Fun fact, the Marmalade Branch is named after the groves of fruit trees that once grew in the neighborhood. Now you know a new piece of library trivia! 

Hi, my name is Yoli, and as a Teen Librarian at the Marmalade Branch I get to support teens’ goals and dreams. Every summer we have the Teen Squad, and teens can volunteer at the library. This is a great way for teens to give back to their communities while adding volunteer experience to their resume. 

I’d like to thank this year’s Teen Squad for all of their hard work during these unusual and difficult times. The Marmalade Teen Squad is super creative and thoughtful, and has a great work ethic. Thank you Alex, Claire, Hazel, Laynee, Lily, and Mariam for making this team awesome!

I borrowed a sewing machine and I am getting help from my mom to learn how to sew masks. My plan is to create a tutorial for other teens to learn how to make a mask. The tutorial will be posted to the library’s teen blog, or to the Biblioboard teen DIY page.

An illustration from Alex’s upcoming blog post reviewing world music.

Hi, I am Alex. I am 16 and will be a senior at West High next year.  This is my 4th year volunteering at Marmalade library. In my free time, I like to watch animated TV shows, play piano, and read about world history. I am excited to be on the Teen Squad this year and work on a project to help others experience the variety of CDs that our library offers to us.

I will create a book club for LGBTQ+ and ally tweens. I noticed that the library had resources for teens who are part of the community, but not for tweens, so I thought that since I have the ability to come up with and create a program I would create a resource for tweens in the community. I plan to have the book club meet every two weeks, reading a new book every four. In the meetings in which books aren’t being discussed, we will be able to socialize and make new friends. This is my first year doing Teen Squad and I’m so excited! I spend most of my time reading, writing, taking photos in the cemetery, or listening to Showtunes. 

​ I will create a story-writing template for children and tweens. It will guide them through things like characters, plotline, and settings. Through this activity they will be able to build creative writing skills. This is my second year volunteering for Teen Squad. In my free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, and playing sports. 

I will create a quiz that will engage curious readers into taking a questionnaire to find their dream book in any genre of their choosing. Whether it be Sci-Fi or Fantasy or any other genre you could think of, these quizzes use your personality to match you up with the book of your dreams in any genre of your choosing. This is my first year volunteering for the Teen Squad. In my free time, I like to play soccer, hang out with friends, read, and watch movies. I am super excited to be a part of the teen squad this year. 

 I'm Lily and I am creating a Flowchart that teens can follow to get quick book recommendations. The project would allow teens and tweens to find interesting books to read quickly. The flowchart has mostly young adult and teen targeted books. It would be displayed as a poster or file online. I am 16, This is my second year with teen squad and I will be a Junior at West High this school year.

​
We hope you enjoyed reading about our Marmalade Teen Squad volunteers. Our last volunteer post, coming next Monday, will feature volunteers from our Day-Riverside Branch. Until then, have a great holiday weekend!

​