Notes from the Underground Teen Band Program

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

The Notes from the Underground is a concert series developed to make it possible for local teen bands to perform in Maricopa County Library District’s libraries. The program was developed by the District’s Teen Services Manager and a branch library’s Teen Librarian as a way to reach teens by offering an option to the more traditional and/or passive library programming (movies, book groups, etc.). The goal is to have teens become the performers rather than just bringing in bands to perform for the teens. This program has many benefits for the youth involved, including getting professional experience as musicians, having the opportunity to engage and interact with their community, and, most importantly, being given the proper motivation and support to actively create media. This program also benefits the communities. Each of the concerts performed was recorded by an audio technician, as selections from these recordings have been put together into a compilation CD album. The album is to be given as an incentive prize for the 2012 Summer Reading Program. This will be the first time that the Summer Reading Program will feature an incentive prize that was created by the population we serve. This program is an innovative and successful method of increasing youth traffic into any library.