The New York Public Library Teens

Staten Island Anti-Prom at NYPL - St. George Library Center was a success! Complete with a plethora of snacks and drinks, arts and crafts, and best of friends, we made this prom a night to remember. 🌃✨🌈

Thanks also to our partners who shared resources with teen attendees: NYC Votes and Works In Progress NYC

Anti-Prom is NYPL The New York Public Library's annual celebration for teens, featuring music, art activities, snacks, and more. The event welcomes and celebrates young people of all sexualities, gender identities, and expressions. Learn more about our upcoming Anti-Proms in the Bronx and Manhattan at nypl.org/antiprom.

On March 31st, we hosted our first annual Staten Island College & Career Fair at the Charleston Library, sponsored by the College & Career Pathways program! We welcomed teens and families into the branch to explore different postsecondary pathways and resources. We're grateful to our community partners who tabled at this fair including Wagner College, The Verrazano School Honors Program at the College of Staten Island, Staten Island Museum, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, College of Staten Island, and more.

Learn more about our postsecondary resources at NYPL The New York Public Library on our website linked in bio.

TEENS 📣 Join NYPL The New York Public Library for our first ever Teen Lit Night at New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on Saturday, June 13 📚

✨ Lit Night will feature an author program with Deb JJ Lee and lots of bookish activities including screen printing, music, button making, book recommendations, and much more. Plus, there will be free snacks and book giveaways!

This event is TOTALLY FREE, although you do have to be between the ages of 12 and 18. Register at the link in bio to reserve your spot!

Calling all teen poets! You're invited to “Mic Check: Democracy TEEN POETRY SLAM” on Saturday, May 9 at 2–4 PM 💫 Hosted by Urban Word, NYC Votes, Defying Legal Gravity, and The New York Public Library.

Whether you’re new to poetry or true to it, whether you can vote or are still civically engaged and high school-aged, this space is for YOU. ALL are welcome.

This event also features:
🍕 Pizza
📚 Giveaways
🦁 Library card sign-ups
✨ So much more!

Located on the 7th Floor of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library - SNFL, NYPL. Register for free at the link in bio ✒️

Optional voter registration will be offered at this event. Registering to vote, or not registering to vote, has no effect whatsoever on anyone's ability to participate in the event, to win any prizes, to receive any giveaways, or to vote for the winner of the poetry slam.

🌸Spring is in the air
Sun is shining, flowers bloom
Smile, it’s for you🌸

Check out this poem and more creative pieces teens wrote in celebration of National Poetry Month at NYPL The New York Public Library: haikus at 67th Street Branch Library (NYPL), blackout poems at Jerome Park Library - New York Public Library, book displays at Harry Belafonte-115th Street Library, displays celebrating Arab-American poets at Morris Park Branch Library, and collages at Parkchester Library - NYPL!

Remember, poetry is for everyone and everyone can be a poet! What's your favorite poem? 📖

✨ The plot twist you didn't see coming: the teens are officially in charge. ✨

Hey NYC, meet NYPL The New York Public Library ’s Teen Book Club Council! 📚👑 We’ve officially handed the keys to a crew of 11th and 12th graders to run the show. They aren't just reading books—they’re curating the whole vibe for the next few months.

What they’re doing (so you don't have to):
🔥 The Summer Picks: They’re hand-picking the official Summer Reads you’ll actually want to talk about.
🎉 The Master Plan: They’re the visionaries behind the scenes, planning two special events just for teens this June. Stay tuned... 🤫
💸 The Hustle: They’re meeting weekly to lead the conversation and learn exactly how the library works from the inside out.

Keep an eye on this space to see what our council cooks up through June. You won't want to miss what's coming next! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Congratulations to NYPL's Teen Curators 👏

Curators need to start somewhere! The New York Public Library offers unique opportunities for teens to engage with our research collections and have their voices heard. Last month, we celebrated our 2026 Teen Curators. Fourteen 11th- and 12th-grade students from across New York City worked directly with the curators responsible for two NYPL exhibitions—"¡Wepa! Puerto Ricans in the World of Comics" and "Niyū Yūrk: Middle Eastern and North African Lives in the City"—and created companion exhibitions featuring personal comics and historical artifacts.

➡️ Swipe to see behind-the-scenes footage of the teens working with our research teams and a sampling of their finished products, and then visit nypl.org/teenvoices to learn more!