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West Valley Library Offers Programs for Teens and Adults

Mar 10, 2016 11:42AM ● By Bryan Scott

By Kelly Cannon | [email protected]

West Valley - The West Valley Library offers different arts and crafts programs tailored specifically for teens and adults. These programs are free and open to the public. 

At 3 p.m. on the first and third Friday of every month is a teen craft project. These projects are open to those between 10 and 17 years old and are slightly more advanced than the other craft projects offered by the library.

“I try to plan two craft projects a month and try to tie it into the season,” Stephanie Tile, the youth services librarian at the West Valley Library, said.

February’s projects centered around Valentine’s Day and included making yarn hearts and heart-shaped hand warmers. The first project in March will be making structures out of dry spaghetti and marshmallows. The second activity will be centered around St. Patrick’s Day: the teens will be making leprechaun snot, a green slime mixture. According to Tile, this was one of the most popular activities last year with nearly 30 in attendance. 

Also geared toward both teens and families is Flashback Friday when the library screens movies from the 1980s and 1990s. 

“I try to pick movies that teens probably haven’t heard of,” Tile said. 

While the movie night originally started out as being just for teens, it has since expanded to include the whole family. 

A new program for adults started in January called Creative Therapy Craft Club. These programs offer small, soothing projects for adults. Tile explained in January that the library purchased coloring books for adults, which offer intricate and detailed designs. Adults were encouraged to come in and color in those pages. In February, adults created homemade Valentine cards. 

Tile explained that the idea came from seeing other libraries offering crafts for adults. 

“It’s really hard to get adults into the library for programs,” Tile said. “It’s just fun projects to get adults into the library.”

While not a creative program, the West Valley Library also offers a Community Resource Center. From 1 to 5 p.m. every Monday, a social worker is available at the library to answer the public’s questions and provide resources. If members of the public have specific questions, the social worker can take the individual into a private room to discuss their options.