About the Wired for Youth Centers

background | purpose | what others say
recognition and awards | sample programs and classes
| Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Video Clip

Background
The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the City of Austin, and the Austin Public Library Foundation established ten Wired for Youth Centers in 2000. The City of Austin and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation committed funds for staff, operations, and computer equipment for and the Austin Public Library Foundation raised funds for children's and young adult materials system-wide. Centers opened at the Carver, Cepeda, Manchaca Road, Oak Springs, Riverside Drive, Southeast Austin Community, Terrazas Branch, University Hills, and Windsor Park Branches, as well as the Faulk Central Library.

Each branch hosts a minimum of seven Internet-wired multimedia computer workstations, and the Faulk Central Library has 12 workstations. The centers are staffed with "wired" librarians who can teach multimedia, Web design, and other computer skills. A youth services manager oversees operations, manages the annual budget of approximately $400,000, and works with the Austin Public Library Foundation to find additional funding for WFY programs. A webmaster maintains an extensive website that includes information about each WFY Center, resources for youth, and examples of work developed in WFY classes.

Youth ages 8-17 have opportunities to use computers for schoolwork, personal interests, email and chatting, research, and leisure. Classes and programs are offered, along with one-on-one assistance. Each computer includes a range of software for web design, graphics, word processing, and other functions. Centers also have digital cameras, video cameras, scanners, and other equipment. Funds are provided so that printing is provided at no charge for homework and Center projects.

Partnerships with other organizations, such as the Austin Children's Museum and KLRU-TV, provide additional opportunities to bring programs, classes, and projects to the Wired for Youth Centers and to connect kids to the community. Grants provide funds for outside specialists to present classes and to fund "cyberlifeguards" to add staff hours during the summer. Supporters, including CapMetro, Time Warner, and Synopses, have helped promote the centers by providing advertising and public service announcements. A psa developed by Synopses appeared aired on Animal Planet, Black Entertainment, Telemundo, and Nickelodeon and was aired 338 times in Fall 2003.

Purpose
As a high-tech community, it is a City of Austin goal to encourage Central Texas children, particularly those who do not have access to computers at home, to improve their technical skills. Community-based resources, like the youth computer centers, help Austin advance its reputation as one of the most "wired communities" in the country and ensure that children in all areas of the community have access to resources that will prepare them for opportunities in the information economy. The Wired for Youth Centers offer youth exclusive access to computers and technology, along with staff to help and encourage them.

Computers are just part of the WFY program. Kids are encouraged to read and discover library resources, get to know library staff, and find a place for themselves with in the library. Programs, classes, and events encourage creativity, leadership, experimentation, confidence, teamwork, and pride.

A key component of the Wired for Youth program is the staff assistance and the programs, classes, and events that engage youth in the Library. The WFY Librarians have education, training, and experience in youth services and technology. They plan and present weekly classes on a variety of topics. More than 8,000 youth participated in 714 programs and classes during the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2003. Grant funding provided through the Austin Public Library Foundation allows each Center to have a "cyberlifeguard" during the summer. The cyberlifeguards are library school students who serve as paid interns.

What Others Say About WFY

"We need to be training our workforce, providing tools for our youth, and getting kids to pick smart options like the library. This program accomplishes all three."—Former Austin Mayor Gus Garcia

"Children living in the information age will be disadvantaged without easy access to information-age tools for learning. The Internet, like our libraries, opens the door to new worlds and new opportunities for our children."—Susan Dell

"The program has offered her [daughter] numerous opportunities to learn new things, make friends with diverse backgrounds and improve on her leadership abilities and teamwork."—parent of a 14-year-old WFY Center participant

"The computer classes have helped me in various subjects at school, such as my advanced art class, science, and English. Because I know more about Photoshop than the other students in art class, I am the teacher's official helper."—WFY Center participant

"When Meliyara Nery, 11, is not e-mailing her friends or searching the Internet, she likes to play games at the Terrazas branch's Wired for Youth center. When she began coming two years ago, she knew little about computers. Now, she teaches her parents what to do."—Austin American Statesman, May 8, 2003.

In 2002, researchers at the University of Michigan and University of Washington conducted a study of "how citizens and communities benefit from public library digital community services, and how these services build community." This project studied library community technology projects including Austin Public Library's Wired for Youth program. Read the results of this study, How Libraries and Librarians Help: Putting Outcomes Evaluation in Context.

netConnect, a publication of Reed Elsevier Inc., published an article about the Wired for Youth Centers. The article is available online. netConnect is published quarterly and distributed with issues of Library Journal and School Library Journal.

The "Policy Research Project: Evaluating Community Technology Centers" class at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs worked to identify effective strategies used by community technology centers that break down barriers to access. Read their Profile of Wired for Youth Programs.

Recognitions and Awards
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association selected Austin's Wired for Youth program as one of 25 outstanding programs for youth in the nation. In addition to a small monetary award, the program will be included in the fourth edition of Excellence in Library Service to Young Adults, to be published by YALSA in Spring 2004.

One of twenty "best of the best" websites in an article entitled "Public Library YA Web Pages for the Twenty-first Century" appearing in the Spring 2004 edition of YALS (Young Adult Library Services) published by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).

Joanna Nigrelli, Wired for Youth Librarian at Terrazas Branch, was selected by the New York Times for its Librarian of the Year award in 2003.

Carver Branch Wired for Youth Librarian Michele Gorman was selected as one of Library Journal's 2003 Movers & Shakers.

Jeanette Larson, Youth Services Manager, received the 2002 Siddie Joe Johnson Award from the Texas Library Association for outstanding library service to youth.

The American Library Association awarded a 2002 Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers grant to Michele Gorman. The $600 award allowed Ms. Gorman to attend a national conference.

The Wired for Youth Center at the Carver Branch was the first recipient of a new award from Noggin TV, receiving $1,500 in 2002 to purchase additional computer equipment and supplies.

The Austin Chronicle named the Wired for Youth Centers for a "Best of Austin" award in 2001.

Jeanette Larson, Youth Services Manager, was an invited participant at The Impact of Technology on Children's Library Services conference sponsored by Libraries for the Future and the Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in Racine, WI in April 2001.

Voice of Youth Advocates awarded its "Most Valuable Program of the Year" recognition in 2001 to "Teen Time Travel: A Ten-Day Tour of Middle Earth" at the Southeast Austin Community Branch WFY.

In 2001, the Texas Book Festival awarded $2,500 to the Wired for Youth Center at Southeast Austin Community Branch for the purchase of books of high interest to teens.

Jones, Patrick, Michele Gorman and Tricia Sullentrop. Connecting Young Adults and Libraries: A How-To-Do-It Manual, Third Edition. Neal-Schuman, 2004.

Gorman, Michele. Getting Graphic! Using Graphic Novels to Promote Literacy with Preteens and Teens. Linworth, 2003.

Wired for Youth staff participate with the Gardner Betts Outreach Program, recipient of the 2005 Hotho Literacy Award from the Texas Library Association. The Hotho Literacy Award recognizes the Texas library which worked the hardest during the year to encourage and support the joy and benefits of reading.

Wired for Youth librarians win City of Austin's ACE Award, an employees choice award in the Spirited category. “We are passionate about our work, have fun doing it and celebrate a job well done”.