A couple of months ago I mentioned the group Knitta in the post “Knitta pleasa for a causa” as a resource for inspiring teens. When I presented Knitta and other established Outreach groups to my teen knitters, I had not anticipated the ambition and readiness that would ignite them towards starting their own awareness-raising effort.

Perk up an ear
and listen here!
For this is our story,
in all it’s radiant glory!

THE BIRTH OF CREATIVE ACTIVISTS: Our teen library knitting group, the Purlers, began about 2 years ago amidst the craze of associating knitting with cool. Purlers attracted dedicated teens whom are now 16-18 yrs old and have been party to:

• throwing their knits down in frustrated torment
• jubilant outbursts upon the discovery that they’ve been purling without realizing
• twisting an item on a circular needle and despairingly surrendering to the act of frogging (frogging = to completely unravel your knitting)
• knitting a strip that stretched the length of the meeting room, approx. 50 ft.
• meeting Debbie Stoller during her 2005 Stitch ‘n Bitch tour

During our first years, Purlers meetings were delightful and energetic. But as teens became more expierenced in the craft, they comparatively became more restless. If Purlers were to survive, it was understood that the hobby alone wouldn’t continue as the group’s sole muse. Trails Teen knitters needed agendas, goals to cross off, and a purpose to knit other than pleasure; they craved empowerment. Twas the fall of ‘06 when I shared Knitta to the Purlers. Knitta’s theme of warming the city with knitted art appealed to Trails Teens and pumped their enthusiasm to “vandalize” our KC community using a similar idea. During this new venture, I realized Trails Teens would no longer be grouped with humble beginning knitters; I was now mentoring creative activists.

DANIELLE’S POLYCHROMATIC PURLERS: One teen in particular, a senior who started as a teen volunteer and became a library aide, took the leadership role in organizing and directing the actions of our Purlers knitting group. Danielle combined outreach knitting with tagging to create the Polychromatic Purlers. To garner support and spread the word to the knitting community, Danielle made flyers and arranged with local knit shops to distribute advertisements to their customers. She also created and currently maintains (with the help of other PolyPur members) online accounts on Blogger PolyPur and MySpace PolyPur.

To participate in planning for PolyPur’s annual event, members meet monthly to knit items that may benefit a child (ages birth thru 17). On Jan 2, knitters throughout the KC metro area will take their items and hang them throughout the city. Attached to every knitted garment is a tag listing information on statistics and websites pertaining to child abuse. For more information please visit the Blogger and MySpace accounts or contact us directly at polychromatic_purlers@yahoo.com (underscore between polychromatic and purlers).

JANUARY 2, 2007 and BEYOND: Teens from the Polychromatic Purlers met early afternoon 1-2-07 to “vandalize” the Plaza area with their knitted garments and informative tags. Two and a half months of planning yeilded approx. 14 knits from various knitters. Items were placed upon the city’s abundant statues, elegantly showcasing their hard work. Later that afternoon, teens observed a homeless man benefit from their giving spirit. A slideshow of the teen’s 01-02-07 event is available to view on the MySpace account.

There are still kinks to work out, nation-wide knitting groups to enlist, and other projects to develop. The group is currently scheduling knitting classes with local libraries and charging a small fee. Monies will purchase supplies for the PolyPur knitting group. A summer Knitting Olympics idea for the KC-Metro area is also in the works. I don’t think it necessary to delve into the postive characteristics resulting from this experience, frankly I think it’s all too apparent. But for the longevity of the PolyPur program, I’m reduntantly expressing a request for support. Please add the teens as a MySpace Friend to your library accounts, share this idea with your teens, and email us if you or your teens are interested in participating. Finally, any feedback and support is greatly appreciated.

A fellow kickbutt Teen Associate,
bloodymandy

I just thought I’d share this although it’s not directly related to YA services. Michael Wesch, a Kansas State anthropology student did a video essay on digital text and Web 2.0. I thought it was a good visual intro to Web 2.0 and could be used a neat staff development tool to help further introduce and encourage Web 2.0 philosophy.

Recently, we received this comment on the Alt. Teen Services Blog:

MySpace - Libraries on MySpace appeal to teens!”

Is this true, or just an aphorism? I’ve heard from teens that MySpace is a good source of library information, but I’ve also heard from the same teens that they want MySpace for themselves. They’re not pleased with organizations, especially ones they consider to be “authority” (read: school or library) being on their turf.

Here is my response, which hopefully propels us into a nice discussion:

With the large number of libraries creating MySpace profiles, I find myself wondering if teens want a public authority such as a library on their friends list. Does a teen feel pressured into adding the library on their contact list? The teen that just “added you” may have done so to be polite, but is actually annoyed that the library will be able to view their personal profile.

I have met young adults that refuse to add the library onto their friends list. “Um, I don’t think you want to KNOW what is on MY PROFILE”. And that’s okay if a teen doesn’t want to add the library. In fact, I have both a private and professional MySpace, and encourage teens to do the same if they feel splintered between the Library MySpace and their personal MySpace.
But I’ve also run into teens who LOVE having the Library on their friends list. The library is in their top 10, and we banter back and forth with quirky library comments. One teen commented, “OMG…books can be dangerous when thrown at high speeds?! Why didn’t anyone warn me…”. When we encourage these library-related comments, we are accepting teens for their quirkiness and strengthening our library relationship with them.

Still, there are the teens that feel befriending the library would limit their ability to “be themselves” on MySpace. They may dread the thought of the librarian reading profile comments and seeing private photos.

I’m curious as to what other librarians think about this question. Are we invading a teen’s private space when we add them as a friend?