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Vol. 71 No. 12 | March 18, 2020 southphillyreview.com
Teens have a space of their own at Queen Memorial Library By Mark Zimmaro SOUTH PHILLY REVIEW
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MARK ZIMMARO/South Philly Review
A place for teens: Students who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Teen Space at the Queen Memorial Library were the first to settle into the new space that was opened to the public.
he Queen Memorial Library has always been a place of learning for all ages. Located at 23rd and Federal streets in the Point Breeze neighborhood of South Philadelphia, the building has a history of education as a former elementary school built in the late 1800s. It was later renovated into an apartment complex for seniors, and the lower floor became a library in 1995 with a split level separating adult and children sections. It never really had a designated space for teenagers. Until now. Last week, the library formally opened a new Teen Space at the library with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It was a longtime vision of the Friends of Queen Memorial Library, which desired a place that local teenagers could call their own. “When I saw the little children and big children up there, together, I thought this is not going to work,” Friends of Queen Memorial Library president Betty Beaufort said. “We sat down for two hours every week and looked on the internet to see what different libraries were doing for teen space. We did a lot of research. It was a lot of work but it was worth it.” Children’s librarian Liz Gardiner also saw the void of a teen-specific area as a problem and didn’t want to lose children who enjoyed their time at the library. See LIBRARY, page 4>>