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SALT LAKE CITY — The philosopher Cicero once said, "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need," and the Salt Lake County Library is eager to prove that's true.
The library is celebrating "Teen Tech Month" this March by inviting teens to check out all the resources available at the library and on the website, as well as hosting the annual teen tech contest to inspire adolescents to "be the source of change."
"Teen Tech Week comes from the Young Adult Library Services Association or YALSA," said Laura Renshaw, head of the Teen Tech Committee. "Libraries across the country focus on technology and highlight nonbook things libraries can do for you."
According to Renshaw, libraries are now "way more than just books." The physical libraries offer DVDs and CDs to entertain and educate, and there are clubs to join, including everything from anime to writing.
The library has hosted fandom celebrations, like "Once Upon a Time" and Harry Potter, as well as summer STEM camps.
The virtual library online includes access to dozens of databases, including Consumer Reports and Mango Languages. One of the most comprehensive resources is the Lynda.com library of video courses. It provides an extensive selection on subjects ranging from the Adobe Creative Cloud software (like Photoshop and Illustrator) to 3-D software like Maya. The online resources can help teens learn game design, video production and character animation.
The official Teen Tech Week ran from March 5 to 11, but the Salt Lake County Library is celebrating the whole month of March with the 2017 theme: "Be the Source of Change."
To help teens focus on technology, the library is continuing its annual contest, open to ages 13-18. This year, participants must create a video, a visual image or write about how they envision the contest theme. Prizes are awarded in three categories (written, visual and animated) to two different age groups (13-14 and 15-18).
Winners receive a $50 gift card, but all participants earn a fine waiver of up to $5 per library card.
Teens have taken to the contest in past years by writing stories or making "creatables," a type of do-it-yourself project.
Last year, Kacy Christensen, 18, won with her "Creatable," the "phone monster," or a sock monster that holds the driver's phone while they focus on the road. Christensen, who is also an artist, said she was a newer driver at the time and her phone was a constant distraction and she wanted to help other teens stay safe as well.
"I learned how tech applied to everything in life ... and I enjoyed being able to morph (my interest in art) into tech and help others in a creative way," Christensen said.
Matthew Morris, 15, won the "Most Creative" award in the 13-14 age group last year with his "creatable" entry: the "Wolverine pen claws."
Morris used pens to recreate a version of the famous superhero's claws. Morris said he learned a lot about technology while making his entry.
"Learning how to merge pictures (on my computer) was challenging, but fun," Morris said. "After I showed all my friends, they all made them."
Teens can check out these entries, as well as all past contest entries, here under Express Yourself.
Teens who want to participate in this year's contest have until midnight on the last day of March to submit their entries and can find details at www.slcolibrary.org/teentech.
The library hopes teens take advantage of all the digital resources offered and use them to make a positive change in their life and community, and even get a $5 fine waived in the process.
John Mabunga was born in Utah and grew up in New York City. He has a career in computers and loves photography and all things Disney. He loves spending time with his beautiful wife and five children.
