Sahara West Library debuts special space just for teens

Briana, 14, and Ahmad, 13, (last names withheld) play a video game April 9, 2015, at the new teen center at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave. This is the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District's second teen center, with the first opening at the Spring Valley Library a month ago. (Jan Hogan/View) (Click for more photos)

Valarie Marchalonis, children's services department head, left, and her assistant Jenny Gomez, right, listen April 9, 2015, as Kim Clanton-Green, Sahara West Library branch manager, welcomes about 40 people to the dedication of the library's new teen space, Teen@. The ideas for what to include came from visiting a forward-thinking library system in Ohio with similar demographics. (Jan Hogan/View)

Jenny Gomez, assistant children's services director at the Sahara West Library, explains April 9, 2015, all the things teens can do in the lab room. Behind her is the green screen, used for swapping out backgrounds when making movies. (Jan Hogan/View)

A group of teens make themselves comfortable April 9, 2015, in the magazine alcove area of the new teen center, Teens@, at the Sahara West Library. The 2,440-square-foot space is the library district's way of recognizing teens need their own space. Their books and materials used to be near the young children's section. (Jan Hogan/View)

It used to be that libraries clustered materials for children of all ages in the same section, pre-kindergarten alongside teens. But the teens, many of whom already were driving, saw themselves as young adults.

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District has recognized a growing trend for library facilities — that teens deserve a space of their own. On April 9, it dedicated a newly refurbished area at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave., naming it Teen@.

“I would ask the teens when they came in where they went to hang out, and they said Starbucks,” said Kim Clanton-Green, Sahara West branch manager. “I said to myself, ‘They need a space of their own.’ ”

Teen@ took over what used to be the international languages room and made it a lounge space, gaming area and magazine section, all done in bright, hip colors. A separate room, referred to simply as the “lab,” offers a place where hands-on projects can spark into reality. It includes a green screen for making short films, craft materials and a sewing machine.

Before the final version of the 2,440-square-foot space was approved, four library district representatives traveled to Ohio and visited the Cuyahoga County Library System, which includes Cleveland, to see how it had incorporated teen centers into its libraries. Those ideas were used to shape the Las Vegas teen centers.

The library district spent about $20,000 to redo the Sahara West space, including new carpet, furnishings and electronics. The Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd., was the first branch to have a teen center. It opened about a month ago. Teen centers are set to open at other library district branches, but no timeline is available.

Ron Heezen, executive director for the library district, said seeing that young people had a good library experience was one of his passions.

“Most libraries, when they’re designed, put the young kids here and the older kids here, and they walk in and say, ‘I’m not a kid,’ ” Heezen said. “So, the experience is not (conducive to feeling understood), and they say that they’re never coming back. Here, we’ve got young people who helped design the space. … So, it’s their space.”

For more information, visit lvccld.org or call the Sahara West Library at 702-507-3630.

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.