Teens

Teen collage showing various images of teens in the library

Teen Services

7-12 th graders are welcome to hang out with friends and explore their interests at all Chemung County libraries. Teen feedback and participation is at the heart of teen services at all our libraries. Events are teen interest driven, and whenever possible, teen led. 

Steele Memorial Library has a dedicated Teen Space, and a Teen Advisory Group that meets twice a month for snacks, brainstorming event planning sessions, and input on what books, video games, and e-books/e-audiobooks are important to get for the collection. All our branch locations also welcome teen feedback and active teen participation.

Teen Events

This event is in the "Children" group.
This event is in the "Tweens" group.
This event is in the "Teens" group.
This event is in the "Adults" group.

Horseheads Battle of the Books featuring Roald Dahl

All Day 3/1 - 3/31
Children, Tweens, Teens, Adults
This event is in the "Children" group.
This event is in the "Tweens" group.
This event is in the "Teens" group.
This event is in the "Adults" group.
This event is in the "Everyone" group.

Design a Button!

2:00pm - 4:00pm
Children, Tweens, Teens, Adults, Everyone

Student Resources

Brittanica High School

Brittanica High School logo

Meeting the reference needs for high school students. (NOVELny)

Database provided by NOVELny

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Brittanica Middle School

Brittanica Middle School logo

Meeting the reference needs for middle school students. (NOVELny)

Database provided by NOVELny

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Brittanica School

Brittanica School Edition logo

Meeting the reference needs for all students.

Database provided by NOVELny

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Library eBooks & eAudiobooks

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Read with Libby

Teens who have their own library card can access Chemung County Libraries’ ebooks and e-audiobooks via the free Libby app. The Libby app allows patrons of all ages to download any book or audiobook they want with their library card.

SORA logo

Read with SORA

Teens who use the SORA app at school to get their school library’s ebooks can access our public library ebooks with their SORA app. Use the “hamburger” menu icon inside the SORA app to add your public library. Just select “Southern Tier Library System.” Please note that the SORA app limits teens to ebooks at their grade level only.

Recommended YA Reads

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The Happy Writer

From #1 New York Times bestselling author and the creator and host of the popular podcast, The Happy Writer, comes the ultimate guide to writing with less stress and more JOY.

If you aren’t suffering, you aren’t creating. Right? 

Wrong! 

Writing can and should be joyful, fulfilling... even fun! Applicable to writers in all genres and disciplines—from screenwriters to novelists, journalists to picture book authors, aspiring to many-times published—The Happy Writer is a heartfelt and optimistic guide that will show you the way to a happier writing journey.

Part craft guide, part writing coach, and part cheerleader, this book offers useful advice on a slew of common writing and publishing ailments, such as how to end procrastination, how to build a social media platform that reflects your personality, how to get your imagination to overflow with new ideas, how to listen to your intuition when receiving a critique on your work, how to overcome impostor syndrome, what to do when you’re stuck in the query trenches, and so much more.

No matter where a writer might be on their creative journey, Meyer encourages them to tap into their own personal sources of joy and to celebrate every milestone, all while confronting challenges (writer’s block! rejection! burnout!) with a reservoir of resources for every temperament, budget, and career.

Known in writers’ circles as a generous mentor, Meyer shares stories from her own writing path to help every writer discover the ultimate joys of living their best writing life.

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Cursed Princess Club Volume Three

Just because you’re cursed doesn’t mean you’re not special.

Gwendolyn, the youngest of the king’s three daughters, is living proof that princesses don’t always have it all. She isn’t like a typical fairy-tale princess, or other princesses in the Pastel Kingdom. Gwendolyn, with her big heart and love of baking, isn’t particularly attractive. Unlike her sisters who have woodland creatures do their hair and makeup, or have flowers blossom wherever they sleep, Gwendolyn is a bit . . . different.

When her father proposes marriage for her and her sisters to make an alliance with the Plaid Kingdom, it breaks Gwendolyn’s heart to hear that Prince Frederick thinks she’s “really ugly.” Overwhelmed and ashamed, she runs away into the forest and encounters the twisted world of the Cursed Princess Club, where her life will never be the same.

The Cursed Princess Club are a ragtag band of outcasts, misfits and cursed princesses who have created an incredible friendship circle. It is among these friends where Gwendolyn learns to embrace her uniqueness and find her people.

In this third book of the series, collecting episodes 62-77 of the hit WEBTOON series, Gwen sits for her portrait painting, we realize Frederick is more complicated than we thought as his feelings for Gwen evolve, and we meet the mysterious Whitney of the Monochrome Kingdom, who is more than meets the eye!.

This volume includes 4 bonus shorts with irreverent retellings of classic fairytales!

Bonus 1 - Maria and Blaine in . . . Little Red Riding Hood
Bonus 2 - Lorena and Lance in . . . Jack and the Beanstalk
Bonus 3 - Gwendolyn and Frederick in . . . Hansel and Gretel
Bonus 4 - Frederick’s Favorite Story (The Man in the Hole and the Angel)

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(S)Kin

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut--a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore--about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.

"Our new home with its

thick walls and locked doors

wants me to stay trapped in my skin--

but I am fury and flame."

Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.... While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past--her mother.

Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies' constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn't even thought to ask.

But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.

White title text on a blue green background with a parrot wing appearing to flutter

The Parrot and the Igloo

The New York Times best-selling author explores how “anti-science” became so virulent in American life—through a history of climate denial and its consequences. 
 

In 1956, the New York Times prophesied that once global warming really kicked in, we could see parrots in the Antarctic. In 2010, when science deniers had control of the climate story, Senator James Inhofe and his family built an igloo on the Washington Mall and plunked a sign on top: AL GORE'S NEW HOME: HONK IF YOU ? CLIMATE CHANGE. In The Parrot and the Igloo, best-selling author David Lipsky tells the astonishing story of how we moved from one extreme (the correct one) to the other.

With narrative sweep and a superb eye for character, Lipsky unfolds the dramatic narrative of the long, strange march of climate science. The story begins with a tale of three inventors—Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla—who made our technological world, not knowing what they had set into motion. Then there are the scientists who sounded the alarm once they identified carbon dioxide as the culprit of our warming planet. And we meet the hucksters, zealots, and crackpots who lied about that science and misled the public in ever more outrageous ways. Lipsky masterfully traces the evolution of climate denial, exposing how it grew out of early efforts to build a network of untruth about products like aspirin and cigarettes.

Featuring an indelible cast of heroes and villains, mavericks and swindlers, The Parrot and the Igloo delivers a real-life tragicomedy—one that captures the extraordinary dance of science, money, and the American character.

19th Century illustration showing a school of fish on a reef

Sing Like Fish

A captivating exploration of how underwater animals tap into sound to survive, and a clarion call for humans to address the ways we invade these critical soundscapes—from an award-winning science writer

Sing Like Fish is that rare book that makes you see the world differently.”—Mark Kurlansky, New York Times bestselling author of Salt and Cod

LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN NONFICTION

For centuries, humans ignored sound in the “silent world” of the ocean, assuming that what we couldn’t perceive, didn’t exist. But we couldn’t have been more wrong. Marine scientists now have the technology to record and study the complex interplay of the myriad sounds in the sea. Finally, we can trace how sounds travel with the currents, bounce from the seafloor and surface, bend with the temperature and even saltiness; how sounds help marine life survive; and how human noise can transform entire marine ecosystems. 

In Sing Like Fish, award-winning science journalist Amorina Kingdon synthesizes historical discoveries with the latest scientific research in a clear and compelling portrait of this sonic undersea world. From plainfin midshipman fish, whose swim-bladder drumming is loud enough to keep houseboat-dwellers awake, to the syntax of whalesong; from the deafening crackle of snapping shrimp, to the seismic resonance of underwater earthquakes and volcanoes; sound plays a vital role in feeding, mating, parenting, navigating, and warning—even in animals that we never suspected of acoustic ability. 

Meanwhile, we jump in our motorboats and cruise ships, oblivious to the impact below us. Our lifestyle is fueled by oil in growling tankers and furnished by goods that travel in massive container ships. Our seas echo with human-made sound, but we are just learning of the repercussions of anthropogenic noise on the marine world’s delicate acoustic ecosystems—masking mating calls, chasing animals from their food, and even wounding creatures, from plankton to lobsters. 

With intimate and artful prose, Sing Like Fish tells a uniquely complete story of ocean animals’ submerged sounds, envisions a quieter future, and offers a profound new understanding of the world below the surface.

Title text and fuschia plant figure against a black background

The Light Eaters

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2024 • TIME’s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024 • New York Magazine’s 10 Best Books of the Year • Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction of 2024 • Smithsonian’s 10 Best Science Books of the Year •  A Best Book of the Year: Boston Globe, Scientific American, New York Public Library, Christian Science Monitor, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly • An Amazon Best Nonfiction Book of the Year

Longlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Nonfiction Prize • Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award for Natural History

“A masterpiece of science writing.” –Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass

“Mesmerizing, world-expanding, and achingly beautiful.” –Ed Yong, author of An Immense World

“Rich, vital, and full of surprises. Read it!” –Elizabeth Kolbert, author of Under a White Sky and The Sixth Extinction 

Award-winning Atlantic staff writer Zoë Schlanger delivers a groundbreaking work of popular science that probes the hidden world of the plant kingdom, “destabilizing not just how we see the green things of the world but also our place in the hierarchy of beings, and maybe the notion of that hierarchy itself.” (The New Yorker)

It takes tremendous biological creativity to be a plant. To survive and thrive while rooted in a single spot, plants have adapted ingenious methods of survival. In recent years, scientists have learned about their ability to communicate, recognize their kin and behave socially, hear sounds, morph their bodies to blend into their surroundings, store useful memories that inform their life cycle, and trick animals into behaving to their benefit, to name just a few remarkable talents.

The Light Eaters is a deep immersion into the drama of green life and the complexity of this wild and awe-inspiring world that challenges our very understanding of agency, consciousness, and intelligence. In looking closely, we see that plants, rather than imitate human intelligence, have perhaps formed a parallel system. What is intelligent life if not a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Zoë Schlanger takes us across the globe, digging into her own memories and into the soil with the scientists who have spent their waking days studying these amazing entities up close.

What can we learn about life on Earth from the living things that thrive, adapt, consume, and accommodate simultaneously? More important, what do we owe these life forms once we come to understand their rich and varied abilities? Examining the latest epiphanies in botanical research, Schlanger spotlights the intellectual struggles among the researchers conceiving a wholly new view of their subject, offering a glimpse of a field in turmoil as plant scientists debate the tenets of ongoing discoveries and how they influence our understanding of what a plant is.

We need plants to survive. But what do they need us for—if at all? An eye-opening and informative look at the ecosystem we live in, this book challenges us to rethink the role of plants—and our own place—in the natural world.

A blue bird on a yellow background with text that saysn "A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds"

A Wing and a Prayer : The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds

A captivating drama from the frontlines of the race to save birds set against the devastating loss of one third of the avian population. 

Three years ago, headlines delivered shocking news: nearly three billion birds in North America have vanished over the past fifty years. No species has been spared, from the most delicate jeweled hummingbirds to scrappy black crows, from a rainbow of warblers to common birds such as owls and sparrows.

In a desperate race against time, scientists, conservationists, birders, wildlife officers, and philanthropists are scrambling to halt the collapse of species with bold, experimental, and sometimes risky rescue missions. High in the mountains of Hawaii, biologists are about to release clouds of laboratory-bred mosquitos in a last-ditch attempt to save Hawaii’s remaining native forest birds. In Central Florida, researchers have found a way to hatch Florida Grasshopper Sparrows in captivity to rebuild a species down to its last two dozen birds. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a team is using artificial intelligence to save the California Spotted Owl. In North Carolina, a scientist is experimenting with genomics borrowed from human medicine to bring the long-extinct Passenger Pigeon back to life.

For the past year, veteran journalists Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal traveled more than 25,000 miles across the Americas, chronicling costly experiments, contentious politics, and new technologies to save our beloved birds from the brink of extinction. Through this compelling drama, A Wing and a Prayer offers hope and an urgent call to action: Birds are dying at an unprecedented pace. But there are encouraging breakthroughs across the hemisphere and still time to change course, if we act quickly.

Steele Library Teens

Colorful teen space in the library

Teen Space at Steele

The Teen Space at Steele Library is a dedicated area on the second floor for 7th to 12th graders only. Teens can hang out with friends, read, study, enjoy snacks, books, computers, smart TVs, video gaming, and craft or art supplies. Teen library events held in the space are based on teen interests and feedback.

Please note: Adults can come in to browse for books, but they cannot stay in the space unless they are with a teen. Children younger than 7 th grade cannot hang out in the space unless they are with a teen 16 or older. All equipment, events, and seating are for 7th to 12th graders only.

Teens posing during Halloween event in the library

Teen Advisory Group at Steele

Anyone in 7th to 12th grades can join the Teen Advisory Group that meets twice a month at Steele Library. We have snacks, brainstorming event planning sessions, and input on what books, video games, and e-books/e-audiobooks are important to get for the collection. TAG members can also help set up and run events, as needed. There’s a fair amount of fun and silliness, too. Volunteer Credit is available. For more information, contact the Teen Space at Steele Library: 607-733-9173 x2311.

Youth Activities

Air Chemung Youth Clubhouse

Clubhouse is for Chemung County teens (ages 12-17), We provide a community-based, non-clinical setting for the promotion of long-term recovery through skill building, recreation, education, wellness, evidence-based prevention programs and other social activities.

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Chemung County Youth Bureau

recreational, educational, and employment programs and services for children, teens, and families in Chemung County

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EOP Head Start, Early Head Start

Birth to Five is a school readiness program. Free for qualifying families. Open enrollment all year.

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EOP: Ernie Davis Community Center

serves ages 13-21 with meals, afterschool programs, and tutoring

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Safe Zones

support and activities for LGBTQ teens in Chemung County; a program by the Chemung County Youth Bureau

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Southside Community Center

afterschool programs and snacks for all school age youth M-Fri

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Tanglewood Nature Center

educational programs for children and adults

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The SPOT program

recreational program for 12-15 year olds in Chemung County; a program of the Chemung County Youth Bureau

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YWCA Elmira

Offering quality before-school, after-school, and summer programs for Chemung County pre-schoolers through 6th graders at multiple sites.

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Teen Web Resources

Teen’s Top Ten - Teens around the nation nominate and vote on their favorite books each year.

YALSA Book Finder (or download the app) - Search 4,000+ books, audiobooks, and films from YALSA's book awards and book lists.

Queer Books for Teens - Find books, resources, and more for LGBTQ teens! From the site: "Created in part with support from the Carnegie/Whitney Grant from the American Library Association and the GLBT-RT resources committee, this website should act as a resource for anyone interested in Young Adult literature with significant LGBTQIAP+ content published between 2000 and 2017."

Khan Academy - Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more.

Hour of Code - Learn Computer Programming or Coding (free & fun for all ages)

Homeschooling resources - The Chemung County Historical Society has many resources available for homeschool families.

Loving Education At Home - A statewide organization dedicated to supporting and promoting home education throughout New York.

Common Core Curriculum - Common Core curriculum broken down by grade level.

New York State Homeschooling Regulations - No matter what state you live in, it's necessary to know your state's homeschooling regulations. And in a highly regulated state such as New York, it's especially important. Learn the regulations by studying the information on this site.

Home School Legal Defense Association: High School & Beyond - HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) is a national homeschooling organization that provides support and resources for homeschooling from young children through teens! This link is for teen specific homeschooling information.

Workforce NY (youth section) (for ages 16-24) - Everything from interviewing techniques, resumes, and working papers to applying to colleges.

Non-Driver ID Card- How to get a New York State ID if you don’t drive.

Getting Working Papers- New York State Department of Labor

Chemung County Youth Bureau‘s Employment Program- Youth ages 14 – 20 that are “work ready” have the opportunity to gain valuable job skills and experience through employment in several businesses and community organizations throughout Chemung County. For more information contact (607) 737-2907.

Free NY DMV Practice Tests - These NY DMV practice tests are good for the permit test and driver’s license test.

Applying for a Learner Permit - You must be 16 or older and apply at a DMV office.

Are you 18? Register to Vote! Let your Voice be heard!

Career One Stop "Get My Future" - A free site for teens from the Department of Labor. This site has everything from how to graduate from high school, job hunting help, and college application advice to finding the right careers for you.

211 Teen Helpline - A free, safe, and confidential source of support and information for youth, parents, and professionals, 2-1-1 Teen HELPLINE operates 24/7 through the various platforms – including calling the contact center, searching the website, and chatting online for meaningful, guided connections to help.

Get help for physical abuse - Chemung County Children and Family Services

For Those Left Behind - Grief resources for those who have lost someone to suicide.

Teens Against Bullying - Created by and for teens, this website is a place for middle and high school students to find ways to address bullying, to take action, to be heard, and to own an important social cause.

Teen Mental Health - MedlinePlus from NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine.

National Runaway Safeline - Judgement free help for runaways

Teen Sexual Health - MedlinePlus from NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Teen Pregnancy - MedlinePlus from NIH U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Planned Parenthood & Southern Tier Pregnancy Place - Confidential, free, or low-cost help for teens re: pregnancy, sexual health, birth control, parenting, and more.

The Trevor Project - Help and information for LGBTQ+ teens and allies. Their 24/7 crisis line is 1-866-488-7386. Texting and chat is also available.

Feeling suicidal? Worried about a friend who is? - Chemung County Crisis Program (607.737.5369) or National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1.800.273.TALK) or text Hello to the number 741741.