Where’s the coolest place to chill? The library, dude

Most Fridays at 4 p.m., librarian Andrea Lipinski sets up the community room at the Kingsbridge Library for the Teen Advisory Group.

Ms. Lipinski, who specializes in working with young adults, called the group a sounding board for what teens want to see from the library.

“It benefits the kids because they get to give back to the library, they help to shape what kind of materials we buy and what kind of programs we have,” she said.

The students also offer feedback on citywide library initiatives aimed at teens and contribute to the Kingsbridge Library’s social media pages. On top of that, participants get community service credit for attending the group.

On Jan. 22, the group voted on some future programs for summer. Favorites included a class that blended Japanese manga-style drawing and sexuality education and one called “So Fresh and So Clean,” which promised to teach teens how to make their own deodorant and body soap.

Nathaly Mendez, an eighth-grade student at the David A. Stein Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy (M.S./H.S. 141), said she started coming to the teen group for the service credit, but ended up sticking around.

“I thought it was pretty interesting to find out some new books I can read,” she said.

Ms. Lipinski said teen advisory groups started to become popular a few years ago.

“Not every branch can sustain a teen advisory group. Basically, you need a librarian on staff who’s dedicated to it and willing to stick with it,” she explained.

Ms. Lipinski is that librarian. She clearly loves her students and talks to them with a mix of authority, respect and a little self-deprecation. At one point, she poked fun at a New York Public Library brochure aiming to teach people how to use the libraries for research.

“The teen version is called ‘How to Library.’ Because that’s how teenagers talk. No?” Ms. Lipinski said to laughter from her group.

When she gets a big crowd from IN-Tech Academy’s after school program, Ms. Lipinski said more than 20 students can pack into the room. Other times, she has a core group of about five dedicated members. Last Friday, six students showed up, including two rookies.

Keyla Flores said she decided to check out the group because she wanted to swap book recommendations with other teenagers. Unlike the other students, the eighth grader does not live in Kingsbridge or even attend school in the area.

“I like this library better,” she explained.

“Best answer ever,” Ms. Lipinski replied.

The other first-timer, Brooklyn Technical High School junior Em Rodriguez, said she had misunderstood the meaning of “teen advisory group.”

“I thought that it would be teens advising other teens,” she said.

But even with the mix-up, Em said she will probably come back.

“This is also a pretty good idea,” she said. “I have a few creative ideas to add to the library programming.”