The YES Project

About The YES Project

Youth Engagement Services

The past two years have been a time of unprecedented change in our lives. The ongoing public health crisis has significantly disrupted the everyday routines of toddlers, children, and teens. Even before the pandemic, the Plainsboro Public Library identified the need to transform the Youth Services floor to better support the development of children at all stages. To achieve this aim, we created the Youth Engagement Services project, or YES. YES will enable us to evolve our services to match the metamorphosis of our younger patrons.

Our goal is to support children’s social, emotional, and intellectual development from birth through high school. The YES project will see the Youth Services floor transformed into a space that facilitates experiences and supports critical library services—from its renovation to the Department’s projected programming and future collections. This project re-imagines the Youth Services Department to meet the needs of all ages, 0-18. It features robust digital infrastructure, adaptable spaces, appropriately sized furniture, and engaging tactile experiences for toddlers. Patron experience, inclusivity, digital resources, and environmental responsibility are all strategic themes that have influenced the guiding principles informing the proposed integral design.

Putting the YOUTH in YES

We’re interested in turning the library into a destination, not just for storytime and books but also for passive play experiences, hands-on experimentation, study time, and socialization. YES intends to meet the needs of all ages by:

  • Creating an engaging area for toddlers with manipulatives and activities to support their socialization, build cognitive and language skills, and offer sensory play.
  • Increasing the workable areas for elementary school-age children to work on school projects and homework and study independently or collaboratively.
  • Providing an area for “tweens” that includes space for collections and group work.
  • Offering dedicated space for teens to socialize and recharge between hours of studying.

Establishing an ENGAGING Environment

The floor currently contains basic design elements and features such as two terraces and a Science Center equipped with 3-D printers and makerspace tools. These areas go untouched by teens due to the current floor layout, which in appearance and functionality caters only to toddlers and very young children. Teens are wary of using the third floor due to the lack of appropriately sized furniture and a ‘Pre-K’ aesthetic, which lacks a fluid design that grows with each age group moving through the space. 

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Changes to the Youth Services space include:

  • Improving the functionality of the Tower Room to be used more throughout the day.
  • Creating a reading area with inviting, soft seating where several people can sit together.
  • Designing a more accessible and functional Youth Services Circulation desk.
  • Enhancing the outside third-floor terrace areas to make them functional and usable through three seasons by adding sunscreens and proper outdoor seating.
  • Providing open space with flexible furniture to accommodate the evolving needs of the library throughout the day and prepare for future change and growth.
  • Renovating spaces using environmentally conscious materials and methods to serve as an example of green architecture for the community.

Accessible SERVICES for All

We plan to overhaul the third floor’s digital infrastructure. Incorporate flexible, adult-sized furniture that encourages socialization and collaboration. This newfound diversity and fluid space will allow Youth Services librarians to finally engage each segment across the 0-18 age range in programming that was previously impossible due to the layout. An investment in YES will allow the Plainsboro Public Library to provide a full complement of services to this developing age range. We intend to implement initiatives such as:

  • Providing programs that nurture intellectual curiosity, problem-solving, and peer collaboration while offering opportunities for hands-on tinkering.
  • Encouraging social, emotional, and intellectual development of kids and families in Plainsboro.
  • Expanding digital resources by providing an abundance of outlets and allowing children to borrow educational tablets and Chromebooks while in the library.
  • Maintaining easy, barrier-free access for all.
  • Designing spaces to be intentionally inclusive, interactive, and innovative.

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Success in this project will permit a broader range of age groups to utilize the Youth Services wing throughout the year. We expect to see patron usage increase and attendance of our programs and classes trend upward as the floor embraces all ages and allows for access to our main event room for children to play and interact. We want to create a positive environment for children and teens to gather, learn, and grow. But we can’t do it alone.

As the pandemic has made clear, it is vital for all of us to invest in our local community, especially beloved institutions such as the library, which plays a crucial role in developing healthy, curious, happy kids. We need partners willing to invest in the youth of their community right alongside us. Help us to spread our wings and fly!

Thank you for your generosity.