Teen services

Events for teens

Events

The City of Menlo Park hosts a range of after-school and weekend activities for teens in grades 6-12. Join us for crafts, games, movies and more! Are you a 7-12th grader interested in shaping library programming for teens? Click the Volunteer with TAG tab to learn about our Teen Advisory Group.

Regular events for teens

Event
 Time Location
Description
Monthly Tabletop Gaming Meetup First Wednesdays at 4 p.m.

Menlo Park Library
800 Alma St.

  

Teens in grades 6-12 are invited to join us every month for drop-in Dungeons and Dragons, or other tabletop roleplaying games. Never played before? That’s no problem! We’ve got all the supplies and knowledge you need to jump right in.
Monthly Book Group Third Tuesdays at 4:30 p.m. Menlo Park Library
800 Alma St.

An in-person book discussion group for kids who are interested in reading teen books. Free copies of the monthly book are available to registered participants. 

This group is open to teens ages 12-17. However, we will be reading teen books that may involve heavier topics and themes. It is up to teens and their grown-ups to determine whether the title being discussed is relevant for them.
Weekly Teen Media

Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m.

 Belle Haven Library
100 Terminal Ave.
We are watching movies or playing video games at the library every week—and snacks are provided! All films are rated PG-13 or lower and all video games are rated E10 or lower. Drop in and find out what the movie or game of the week is, and use the suggestion box in the library Teen Zone to request future movies and games.
Fridays at 3:30 p.m. Menlo Park Library
800 Alma St.
Teen Advisory Group (TAG)
 First and third Wednesdays at 4 p.m. Belle Haven Library
100 Terminal Ave.

Want to earn volunteering hours and be involved in your Menlo Park community? Join other teens in grades 7-12 in our Teen Advisory Group (TAG). TAG shares ideas on our library's teen programs, contests and more. The TAG group has meetings at both libraries - drop in to whichever location works for you! Fill out the online application to get involved. 
First and third Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. Menlo Park Library
800 Alma St.

 

Upcoming events for teens

 

Teen Resources

Looking for a good book?

YA Black Lives Matter  YA Celebrating Latina/o Lives  YA fairy tales retold
YA fantasy YA graphic novels YA historical fiction
YA manga YA middle school list YA science fiction

 

Recommendations by teens!

Kanopy for movies to stream films without paying a subscription.
  • East Side Sushi (Drama) (Rated PG)
  • Loving Vincent (Documentary)
  • The Horse Boy (Documentary)
Overdrive for ebooks which has a mix of genres of YA books.
  • The Thousandth Floor (Katharine McGee)
  • The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs)
  • Ten (Gretchen McNeil)
  • Desert Dark (Sonja Stone)
  • P.S. I Still Love You (Jenny Han)
  • The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas)

Databases for school

  • Academic Search Complete has more than 6,400 full-text periodicals, including more than 5,700 peer-reviewed journals. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1887.
  • Britannica School and Escolar is made for today’s digital classroom, with extensive, up-to-date information sources in English and Spanish.
  • High School Supersearch is a multi-database search of several student resources below.
  • Historical Abstracts and Full Text (World) covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present.
  • History Reference Center (U.S. and World) offers 2,000 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books, 140 history periodicals, 74,000 historical documents, 81,000 biographies of historical figures, 113,000 historical photos and maps, and 83 hours of historical video.
  • Points of View Reference Center contains resources that present multiple sides of an issue, helping students develop persuasive arguments and essays, understand controversial issues and develop analytical thinking skills.
  • ProQuest Databases provide a single source for scholarly journals, newspapers, reports, working papers and datasets along with digitized historical primary source documents and more than 450,000 eBooks. 
  • Referencia Latina is a comprehensive Spanish-language resource offering 49,000 encyclopedia entries, 50,000 images, 2,500 health reports, 100 reference books, dozens of general interest magazines, and daily updated articles from a dozen prominent newspapers from 10 Latin American countries.
  • Science Resource Center is a comprehensive research database of content from 860 science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, etc.
  • New York Times to stay up-to-date on current news.
  • Tutor.com for live school work help.

 

Volunteer with TAG

Teen Advisory Group

The Teen Advisory Group (TAG) is a rolling-membership volunteer group committed to the promotion and improvement of the library’s teen programs and materials. This is a rewarding extracurricular activity for middle and high schoolers. Participating teens in grades 7-12 meet twice a month and earn volunteer hours at the library with a variety of different activities such creating colorful book displays, planning fun events, and helping with library projects.

Check out what the M-A Chronicle wrote about TAG in this article!

Meetings and membership

The Teen Advisory Group (TAG) is accepting applications for new members! Applicants should be in grades 7-12. Meetings are held at Menlo Park Library on the first and third Thursdays of the the month from 4:30-5:30 p.m., and at Belle Haven Library on the first and third Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m. Members are welcome to attend meetings at one or both locations.

Apply now

Contact us

Ella Hadrovic
Librarian
Email
650-330-2533

Rose Waldman
Library and Community Services Supervisor
Email

650-330-2516

 

 

 

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