Bond project architecture firms welcome teen involvement

Since Multnomah County voters approved the Library Capital Bond in November 2020, the library has been hard at work with architecture firms to map out the design process for the construction and renovation of the Chapter One libraries. Throughout the process, the library and the firms have been meaningfully including teen voices with the help of two design programs.

The two programs coordinating teen involvement are Youth Opportunity Design Approach (YODA), and Your Street Your Voice. The YODA team has been working with architecture firms LEVER and Noll & Tam on the design of Albina and the North Portland locations. For the design of the Holgate and Midland libraries, Your Street Your Voice has been working with Bora and Colloqate architecture firms.

Both YODA and Your Street Your Voice offer teens a paid opportunity to help shape the design process and share what they want to see in their local libraries. The groups center the voice of teens coming from communities that are historically underrepresented in public processes. Through a multi-week cohort program students reflect on space and equity, and the messages that can be received from a space depending on who is considered throughout a design process. They are introduced into architecture as a career, while at the same time shaping library spaces in a meaningful way.

“As soon as I knew the Capital Bond Project was happening, I was looking for how we could have more youth involvement in these spaces,” says Sara Ryan, teen services librarian.

Pictured left to right are Sara Ryan (teen librarian), Isy Ibibo (teen librarian), and Cathy Parham (youth librarian).

The goal of both YODA and Your Street Your Voice is to see what kind of space the teens want to develop. “We work with students who don’t get asked ‘how could you change your environment?’ and this opens and unlocks their imagination. With the intention of the design team using their ideas and informing how the design will be executed, teens feel like we actually do care and want their input,” says Jacquelyn Santa Lucia, co-founder of Your Street Your Voice.

Your Street Your Voice provides opportunities and programs for students to get paid to learn about design as a tool for racial justice. The organization works with 12 local high schools, and has programs in and out of state. Your Street Your Voice works with primarily Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ youth who live in the neighborhoods of the libraries they are providing feedback on. “All students are experts, so we want to see what they desire to thrive,” says Jacquelyn.

There has been a lot of engagement from teens in both of these programs. “A lot of the students had thought about place already and what were places that were meaningful to them and where they felt welcome. So we built on this existing interest, and can see that teens are connecting across different schools and cultural backgrounds when they are doing group work,” says Sara.

To showcase the type of innovative concepts a library could have, the YODA team went on a field trip to the Fort Vancouver Regional Library. “On the way there and back it was a great experience with the kids being happy on their own, making friends and having a good time,” says Isy Ibibo, teen librarian. Teens got to see what a more recently updated library looks like, and gather inspiration for what their library could be. 

“The teens are concerned about comfortable seating in the library and a space that they could be in all day long and feel comfortable. But they also want a space that feels geared towards social justice and minority communities - BLM and LGBTQ+ rights. I’m very impressed that teens are thinking bigger than just wanting a cushioned chair,” says Isy.

There are different design teams and architects working with the teens on the projects. Each library is designed with the unique needs of each community and neighborhoods. “The overall approach is to have these teens be reflected in these specific areas, so there is different cultural and linguistic diversity,” says Suzanne Chou, community engagement coordinator with the Library Capital Bond Projects.

Students are learning project management skills, design principles, community agreements, environmental aspects of developing large buildings, color schemes, space considerations and more.

One teen shared how learning about architecture inspired him to explore other features of design, including the engineering and mechanics of a building. “This made me think about the concept that everything in the building has something to offer, whether that be functional or aesthetic,” says Theo, junior in high school and participant in the YODA program. 

Teens are guided through the visual process of design and what architecture looks like. The architecture team shows what the current plan is for teen spaces, how to read these plans and what a 21st century library could look like. 

“I really liked building with jenga blocks when I was a kid. I would put them to the side and put roofs on, and admire how there was structure, how architecture has to do with it, and how it is supported. From there I started looking more into what an architect was, because I didn't know before. I just liked building and liked the concept of structure and support and design in buildings. Then I learned what an architect meant and that's what I looked into to go forth,” says Marelynn, a junior in high school and participant in the YODA program.

Marelynn’s school has a work-study program that has allowed her and other teens to look a bit more in depth into specific careers. She has been passionate about architecture for a long time, and expressed her love for this program. “Problem solving is a big part of architecture. It’s all problem solving to get to the big goal you have in the future of the building or project, and even though the building needs to be strong to support everything, the process of design is flexible,” says Marelynn. 

In the recent Your Street Your Voice cohort, students were able to share their ideas with the design and architecture team as well as key library stakeholders. They described pieces of the library that are important to them, including color preferences, how the five senses can impact wanting to leave or stay at the library, and ideas for how to build community outside of the library— like with a community garden. The teens shared their wish list of rooms for particular interests— a music library, library of games, and even a pets library! No suggestion or idea was too outrageous, as this exercise was an opportunity for teens to think outside the box and discuss what they would like in the library if there were no limits.

“The built environment is a reflection of the value system. It’s very clear where investments have been put in when you see it in schools and libraries…and libraries are a safe space for a lot of people. They provide safety, security, and wrap-around services. I can't tell you how many times students have said, ‘the library has been the place,’” says Jacquelyn.

These programs offer hands-on activities for teens, and give young people the time and space to share in the design of the libraries they are a part of. 

The library is committed to youth informing future library projects, and as projects move forward, opportunities for input will be updated on the Library Capital Bond Projects website. You can also stay up-to-date by signing up for the bond projects newsletter.
 

Chinese patrons build community

Chinese is one of seven dedicated service language and culture groups at the library. Many library branches have staff that speak Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Vietnamese, Russian, or Spanish. They are working to build collections in these languages. There are also library staff dedicated to serving the culturally specific needs of the Black and Indigenous communities. The language and culture staff members connect with communities around the county to share information about local resources, and provide friendly guidance to navigate opportunities.

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Month (AANHPI), and some of the library's wonderful Chinese patrons shared their experiences of the library and what they love most about it. 

Sign up for upcoming events at your local library

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When Ms. Ren visited the Central Library for the first time, she was impressed with the staff and services available. 

When she learned about the English classes through the Adult Literacy Tutoring program, she signed up and asked how much she needed to pay. She was pleasantly surprised when she found out that all library services are free! 

Ms. Ren shared that learning English has helped her adapt to being in a new community and new country. 

Through the library, she has sought tech help and attended many arts and crafts classes. Her favorites have been those during the Mid-Autumn Festival where patrons learn to make lanterns, origami, dumplings, and calligraphy. Ms. Ren enjoys creating art and has gifted several Chinese knot and string art pieces (pictured) to the library to show her appreciation. 

Coming to the library, she has made new friends and found connections to her culture. 

“The library is just like a family. When you have difficulties and questions, then you can always ask the library…it is not just about books, it is also about helping the human.”

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Ms. Schuchan Zhao and her family enjoy attending Chinese cultural events at Woodstock Library. 

At this branch, they’ve connected with Chinese library staff, and while the library was closed during the pandemic, they attended virtual library storytimes. 

“Due to Covid, kids do not have many opportunities to learn together, especially those at an early age, having the virtual storytime meeting is really helpful for them, so they can develop reading and learning skills while having fun,” shared Ms. Schuchan Zhao. It was “a great opportunity for the young children to interact, listen to Chinese stories, and do crafts together.”

Ms. Schuchan Zhao and her family also love to attend the Chinese culture festivals and other virtual and in-person activities provided at the library. 

“The library provides the opportunity for the Chinese group to celebrate our festivals, share our culture and gather with our community, '' says Ms. Schuchan Zhao.

Her family has also participated in virtual storytimes, and the Summer Reading program. They have been able to enjoy the library as a family and inspire others to as well. 

“I would encourage people to apply for a library card, so they can enjoy getting books to read with their families,” says Ms. Schuchan Zhao.

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Mrs. and Mr. Lin are a couple who’ve connected with the Chinese language staff at the Central and Midland libraries. 

“When we moved to Portland we wanted to come here to learn English. We have a volunteer who teaches us one by one. The library helps us with English, the tutors help us, and today we have about five tutors who have taught us. We always appreciate them for helping us learn English more and better,” says Mr. Lin.

The couple has benefited from the computer technology help, books, and classes available at the library. 

“We appreciate the technology help. It helps us learn on the computer if we have problems, they can help us solve this problem. Also on the cellphone, if there is a problem, they can help us resolve it. For the seniors this is really important. As we get older we have a lot of technology so what we learn is from the tech programs and we both appreciate it. After we learn the result, we help other people to resolve the same problem.The first time we used Zoom, we didn't know how to use it. Through the program at the library we learned how to use it and we helped seven or eight people use Zoom,” says Mr. Lin.

“We don’t use the computer often so sometimes I ask about computer problems. Sometimes it might be for my friend. So then I resolve the problem and then tell other people. Thank you for this,” says Mrs. Lin.

They have been library advocates, encouraging friends to use library resources and attend events. 

“At the library we can take out books and take them home for reading. There are a lot of Chinese books, so there may be one someone likes and can bring home for reading. The library also has some activities we always enjoy - the Lunar New Years programs, and the Mid-autumn festivals. We also like calligraphy and writing Chinese words,” says Mrs. Lin.

“We enjoy that our Chinese people go to the library. We told more than ten people to go.
We always ask the library what kind of activities the library will have and then we tell our Chinese apartment residents to join this activity. The library always contacts us and then we can tell someone to join this activity,” says Mr. Lin.

***

Ms. Terri Hsing is a Chinese culture teacher from Taiwan who has taught in public and private schools. Most recently, Ms. Hsing has been teaching free calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting classes for patrons of all ages at the library.

“I’ve taught traditional Chinese culture for over 15 years in the States. Since last year, I’ve been working in partnership with the Multnomah County Library to put together many events. I appreciate that the Multnomah County Library gives me so many opportunities to host cultural events,” says Ms. Hsing. 

Ms. Hsing has hosted Chinese classes in lantern painting, dough figurine art, hand-writing spring couplets and more.

“My favorite events are the Chinese calligraphy courses and Chinese painting lessons. Chinese calligraphy includes the history from 5,000 years of history, Confucius philosophy ... It's a rich heritage. We have poetry - and people use calligraphy to write poetry - it’s a beautiful thing to share the poetry and write the calligraphy written with handmade rice paper,” says Ms. Hsing.

Ms. Hsing has made incredible connections with patrons and staff through her programs. 

“The library is the best place and way to share culture because it is based on community. If I do cultural sharing, I want people to come and enjoy the program and cultural events,” says Ms. Hsing.

The library is a community hub where people can come together to celebrate their individual heritage and learn about other cultures as well. 
 

Discover details of all the Corps members from this PBS site and this Discovering Lewis & Clark site.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

The Lewis and Clark "Corps of Discovery", as it eventually came to be called, was conceived by Thomas Jefferson. He was dedicated to exploration of the vast territory west of the Mississippi River and learning about the Native Americans who resided there. He wanted to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean and map the topography. Also, he expected the Corps to catalog the flora and fauna they encountered. On the Monticello web site read about Thomas Jefferson's part in funding and planning the Corp's work.

MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK

President Jefferson chose his secretary Meriwether Lewis as the ideal candidate to captain the Corps. Lewis then chose his Co-Captain, William Clark. They had served in the military together and were an ideal team.  Between them, they possessed the skills needed to face the challenges of their incredible journey.

TOUSSAINT CHARBONNEAU

Monsieur Charbonneau is not noted for his popularity with the rest of the Corps or his abilities as a member of the team...it appears that the only contribution of real value he provided was the interpreting services of his wife, Sacajawea. This description of Charbonneau makes it clear he was considered a sort of "necessary evil".

SACAJAWEA

There are many questions surrounding Sacajawea's story that have been controversial. One is the correct spelling/pronunciation of her name and another question is at what age and where did she die? My search for accurate information about these questions and others about Sacajawea led me to the descendants of her tribe of origin, the Lemhi Shoshoni. I found a site from the Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural, & Educational Center. Tim Woodward interviewed members of Sacajawea's birth tribe. The story of the kidnapping and slavery of Sacajawea and her marriage to Charbonneau make difficult reading. Her life as a member of the Corps of Discovery is but a small piece of her complex history. From the time she was kidnapped, Sacajawea's life was determined by people who were not interested in her happiness but in taking advantage of her talents. Sacajawea probably died due to an illness that may have resulted from the birth of her second child, a daughter named Lissette.

JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARBONNEAU (POMPEY) 

Sacajawea gave birth to Jean-Baptiste during the first winter of the expedition when they were camped at Fort Mandan in North Dakota. William Clark was very fond of the toddler nicknamed "Pomp" or "Pompey". The landmark Pompey's Pillar was named after Pompey. After the expedition he was provided for by Clark, but never adopted by him. Jean-Baptiste spent time as an adult in Europe but eventually returned to the United States to take up a mountain man lifestyle similar to his father's. The man, who had traveled as a child on one of the greatest explorations of all time, died and is buried in Oregon.

YORK

York was William Clark's slave and belonged to him from the time both were children. His contributions to the success of the Corps were as valuable as any of the other members. In recent years, letters William Clark wrote to his brother reveal that he did not feel York's "services" with the Corps had any value. He didn't care that York wished to live close to his wife and refused to grant him his freedom. Clark told his brother that if York didn't improve his attitude he was going to loan him to a harsh master. The final years of York's life are detailed by the National Park Service. You can learn how York's position in the 1800's is typical of the complexities of the slave/owner relationship.

SERGEANT CHARLES FLOYD

Sgt. Floyd holds the dubious honor of being the only member of the Corps of Discovery to perish on the journey. This unhappy event took place soon after the Corps embarked on their Missouri River voyage. Flying at Sgt. Floyd's monument is a replica of the 15 star and 15 stripe flag he would have defended for the military. Visit his Sioux City memorial to learn what ended Sgt. Floyd's trek.

SEAMAN

Seaman was a Newfoundland dog and a valued member of the Corps of Discovery. He was purchased by Meriwether Lewis for $20 (about $400 in 1806), perhaps because he had webbed feet and much of the trip was intended to take place by pirogue. Seaman caught small game, entertained the expedition members and provided excellent service at guard duty. There are many theories about what became of Seaman. This version of Seaman's fate is intriguing...and it appears to be based on some historical evidence.  Here is a great photo of a sculpture including Seaman which is located in Fort Clatsop National Park--he is paying very close attention to the flounder rather than his guard duty.

WHO WERE THE OTHER GUYS

The rest of the Corps included volunteer members of the U.S. Army and a handful of civilians. They were chosen for the skills they could contribute in carrying out the goals of the expedition and for keeping all members alive and safe. 

 

Visit your local library for yours

Don’t miss out on a chance to receive your makerspace minikit! The Circuits and Bots minikits are available now at your neighborhood library. These kits are intended for teens, tweens, and youth under 13 years old with recommended supervision. 

Makerspace minikits are STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) based activities in a bag. Each series shows kids how to be creative in interpreting the materials and making the final product. The minikits come with instructions in several languages: Russian, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese.

Nicole Newsom, Judith Guzman-Montes, Desiree Wolcott-Cushman, and Melody Hamaker (pictured) along with other staff have been working behind the scenes to assemble thousands of kits.

“For this series, bristlebots are what I’ve worked on the most,” says Melody. “We receive materials in bulk, and then someone takes one of each item and makes sure we have all the components needed in a bag. To make these kits we have volunteers and staff working on them. It’s a mini assembly line each time.”

The minikits currently available explore circuitry and the flow of energy. Youth can move electricity from a light to an LED using conductive materials; make a complete circuit; learn about parallel circuits; and experiment with making an on/off switch. Young patrons can learn, build and play by making a paper circuit card, light-up bugs, and bristlebots.” 

Pictured are library patrons Marcos and his mom, Angeles, receiving their first minikit.

Each minikit series builds on the skills from the last, although patrons do not need to have done the previous series to participate in upcoming ones. 

“This was amazing and such a joy for the kids to do on a rainy day,” said one patron about the bridges minikits series.  

Other patrons have provided feedback saying that the minikits inspire them to do more at home projects. For the catapult minikit, one patron mentioned that the “rocket was the best part.”

The makerspace minikits are made possible by gifts to The Library Foundation. The minikits started as a way to offer at-home programming for youth while libraries were closed due to the pandemic. Previous to this, the Rockwood Library makerspace regularly hosted STEAM-based programs for teens. The space was designed for teens to hang out, learn new skills like movie making, video game design, computer coding and other advanced technology skills. Teens often visited after school and on weekends, creating robots, using the  3D printer and even completing projects with a laser cutter. The Rockwood makerspace first opened in 2016, which was made possible by the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission and The Library Foundation. 

There are two more scheduled minikits coming out in the next few months. 

• Fiber arts minikit will be available beginning May 28, 2022. This minikit explores the art and science of fabric, through measuring, problem solving and sequencing patterns.
• The soft circuits minikits will be available on June 11, 2022. In this series, experiment with circuit building and move electricity to a light. 

Library patrons can receive one minikit series per person, while supplies last.The minikits are free and include all materials.

Thank you to The Library Foundation.

Interviewing for a job is stressful, especially if you haven’t done it before and you’re not sure what to expect. But just like anything else, the more you prepare, the more likely it is that you’ll feel confident.

The career site Indeed.com has useful information about preparing for an interview, including a video explaining how to answer the question “Tell me about yourself.” Here are some other questions you might be asked in an interview, and some questions you might want to ask the person or people interviewing you.

General Questions

• Why are you looking for a job?
• Why do you want to work for us?
• What makes you the best candidate for this job?
• What are some of your biggest accomplishments?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• What are you learning in school that will help you with this position?
• Tell me about a problem you had recently and how you solved it.
• Do you have any questions about the job?

Questions you might want to ask the people interviewing you:

• Are schedules for people in this job likely to change often from week to week, or mostly stay the same?
• What’s the best advice you have for someone starting out at this job?

The library can help you prepare for job interviews. We have community professionals who will do practice interviews with you and give you feedback. To schedule an appointment, contact us at workplace@multcolib.org.

Teens need resumes too! It can be challenging to create your first resume but the library can help. First, start thinking about all of your experiences. Even if you’ve never had a job you probably have a lot of great skills and work experience. Check out this blog post to help you think about your experience.

The library can help you create your resume. We have librarians who can sit down with you and help you create your resume from scratch. We also have community professionals who will review your resume when it’s ready and help you make it even better. 

To schedule an appointment, contact us at workplace@multcolib.org

Here is a handy template to help you get started. Download the PDF document and open it in Google Docs or another word processor to edit it. 

If you’ve checked out a copy of George by Alex Gino recently, you might have noticed some changes to the cover. Many of the covers have been altered to change the title from George to Melissa’s Story. This was done in response to a blog post from the author encouraging readers to engage in #SharpieActivism. That is, to alter the covers of their book to the title Melissa’s Story to reflect the gender identity of the main character. In the post, Gino (who uses they/them pronouns) talks about the importance of using a person’s preferred name and that they regret using Melissa’s birth name as the title. They go on to share their experience of growing up nonbinary and the message that something as small as a book title can send.

Over the past several months, the Online Teen Council set to work on the library collection. Equipped with washi tape and colored Sharpies, the teens altered approximately 60 copies of the book in English, Spanish, and Books on CD. The results were rich and varied. Some were as simple as crossing out the old title and adding the new. Others were ornate. Some of the titles had been altered even before the project began. The teens brought their individuality to the project, as I’m sure Gino intended.

On October 22nd, 2021, Scholastic announced that they have changed the title of the book to Melissa. The book will be printed with the new name starting in April 2022. In the meantime, you can visit Alex Gino’s blog for printable covers and to order stickers. Or else you can engage in your own #SharpieActivism.

Resources:
The Trevor Project
It Gets Better Project
Sexual & Gender Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC)
Oregon Youth Line (call, text, chat, or email)

For Families and Allies:
PFLAG
GLAAD
TransFamilies

Entra al colegio de dos años o a la universidad de cuatro años

Muchos estudiantes deciden continuar sus estudios superiores en una universidad o colegio. La biblioteca te ofrece varios recursos para elegir la universidad o colegio y solicitar ayuda financiera. 

Información adicional que puede ayudarte a decidir:

Algunas ideas

Continúa una carrera universitaria

Aprovecha el tiempo en la universidad

Ideas para padres para ayudar a su adolescente

Aprende algún oficio

Con el alto costo de las universidades, muchos estudiantes buscan alternativas. Los colegios comunitarios y escuelas que ofrecen carreras técnicas, pueden ser una opción. Los programas de escuelas vocacionales como Benson Polytechnic, pueden abrirte la puerta directamente a una práctica de aprendizaje. Girls Build ofrece campamentos después de la escuela para animar a las chicas a entrar al trabajo de construcción.

Si ya te graduaste de la universidad o colegio, Oregon Tradewomen ofrece clases y carreras de oficios como el primer paso para aprender acerca de los trabajos en construcción y entrar a una práctica de aprendizaje pagada.   

Si estás interesado en el trabajo y servicio comunitario, AmeriCorps tiene muchas posiciones para ayudarte a desarrollar y mejorar tus habilidades y hacer una diferencia en la comunidad. 

Si tienes alguna discapacidad, puedes trabajar con Vocational Rehabilitation Youth Services desde los 14 años de edad para empezar a desarrollar habilidades, explorar intereses y opciones, y aprender acerca de los recursos que pueden ayudarte a encontrar un trabajo y mantenerte empleado. Una vez que entres al tercer año de preparatoria (junior), puedes empezar a trabajar con el equipo de apoyo de tu escuela para conocer las opciones y obtener tu diploma de preparatoria. También puedes empezar el plan de transición para tus años después de la escuela preparatoria.

Haz una práctica o voluntariado en el área de tu interés

La experiencia en un campo puede ayudarte a determinar si esa carrera es para ti. ¿Te interesa la medicina? Inscríbete como voluntario en OHSU.  ¿Te interesa la tecnología? Prueba Free Geek. ¿Estás interesado en un trabajo social? Prueba el  Banco de Comida de Oregón.  Si estás interesado en la construcción, prueba The Rebuilding Center. ¿Te gustan los animales o deseas estudiar para ser veterinario? Prueba el Zoológico, la Audubon Society o la Humane Society. ¿Te gusta la biblioteca? ¡Conviértete en voluntario con nosotros!  

De acuerdo a la ley de Oregón, todos los distritos escolares ofrecen Programas de Educación Profesional y Carreras Técnicas: Portland Public Schools, Gresham, Centennial, Parkrose, Reynolds y David Douglas. Estos programas incluyen una amplia variedad de oportunidades de aprendizaje práctico en clase y en la comunidad.

¿Deseas más ideas de qué hacer después de la preparatoria? Con gusto te ayudamos, comunícate con nosotros a aprendiendo@multcolib.org