YOUmedia @ CPL

YOUmedia is a 21st century learning space for teens housed at the Harold Washington Library Center in downtown Chicago. Designed to inspire collaboration and creativity, YOUmedia connects young adults, mentors, books, media, and institutions throughout the city of Chicago. The center is a partnership between the Chicago Public Library and the Digital Youth Network, and provides teens access to books, laptops and desktops, and a variety of media creation software tools.

Chicago Public Library librarians and Digital Youth Network mentors provide workshops on using digital media tools and creating artifacts such as blogs, videos, songs, and images. The space is open to all high school age teenagers and use of the technology is free with a valid Chicago Public Library Card.

“Students have the power to participate in the media, to react to the media, to create the media, to be the media. With this newfound power, our youth don’t have to simply be fed what the media presents; they can join in the process, to provide a broader more and relevant perspective, while at the same time defining themselves in new, and powerful ways. This idea of redefinition can influence the birth of a new youth cultural renaissance.”

–Mike Hawkins, DYN Associate Director / Lead Mentor