With no in-person events, the customer service and "behind-the-scenes" aspect wasn't possible. Teens often use Teen Squad to log volunteer hours and gain experience that can help with college applications and job-seeking. Our Teen Services Committee wanted to make sure we could still offer an experience for teens who needed it, and created a whole new experience model to suit the new virtual landscape, focused on promoting valuable job-skills and deepening their connection to the library.

Volunteers were teamed with librarian mentors and other teens, and engaged in virtual meetings throughout the summer. Teens defined their own project, such as: gathering contributions and making a zine, starting a Zoom book club, generating book recommendations and coordinating a pen-pal project. At summer's end, each teen presented their work to the whole group. Finished projects live on our website, as part of our collection and on our new Teen Blog.

We accepted 40 Teen Squad Volunteers, nearly everyone who applied. The new format allowed for a creativity and flexibility that wasn't there before. Teens were more engaged by sharing what they were personally passionate about, and the library is able to offer new resources created by teens, for teens. Overall, it was a more connected learning experience. Feedback from the teen volunteers shows that they enjoyed the process and learned a lot, despite the COVID-induced limitations.