The Palo Alto Main Library opened its new teen section today with carrot cake, pizza, and an iTunes gift card.

With the hope of drawing more teens to the library, the Main Library created an area primarily for young adults. The area is furnished with new tables and chairs, a peg-board acknowledging "Remarkable Teen Readers," and shelf space for teen movies, music, and recorded books. Teens are even kept up to date about community events through a "Look What is Happening in Teen" board.

Mayor Judy Kleinberg and Paly freshman William Kern took part in the symbolic cutting of the ribbon.

In a brief speech, Mayor Kleinberg commented on what she hoped the library would provide for teens.

"We have struggled to make the library more appropriate for our youth," Kleinberg said. "Hopefully as you grow up libraries will be something you love."

Kern shared enthusiasm for the new teen section.

"It’s really a cool way to open up the library," Kern said. "I will definitely use it. I did not know about it [the teen section] until two days ago, but when I found out I was excited."

School Liaison Maya Spector worked with teens to bring about library changes according to teen needs, and attributed the libraries focus on teens to a shift within the community.

"There was more of a focus on teens city-wide," Spector said. "We have so little space [in the library] that everything has to have an advocate to have space. Teens do not have that voice. The library now has a broader banner of people more accustomed to working with younger people to raise that voice."

There iss an over-all sense that teens had not previously been given their due space at the Main Library.

There will be a second Teen Library Advisory Board (T-LAB) in January, made up of kids from around the Main Library neighborhood, with the hope of bringing together local teens to discuss needed changes in the community. There is already a T-LAB at Mitchell Park.

"We have had a T-LAB, but most of the kids have been from the South side of town," Spector said. "We are hoping that with a closer Advisory Board, with a teen focus, there will be a better turnout."

The community shows consistent belief that teens were previously not well-represented.

"The kids were not being served," employee at the Mitchell Park Library and organizer of T-LAB, Mary Ann Young said. "The former director [of Palo Alto Library] Paula Simpson had this directive that we were to enhance our teen services about two or three years ago." They have finally done just that.

Manager of Youth Services for the Palo Alto Library Melinda Wing explained how such significant changes came about and the reaction of people other than teens.

"We laid the groundwork with the children section [recently added to the Main Library] and changed the library to be more family friendly," Wing said. "When we started the teenage section feedback was positive. We want to be a full-service library, not for one group."

All new furniture has been funded by the Palo Alto Library Foundation, whose President is Cathy Miller.

"Hopefully this [section] is special enough to bring teens back into the library," Miller said .

Over-all, there is a sense of enthusiasm from the present teens at the opening.

Shoshana Bortner, a seventh grader at Jordan expressed delight with the new section.

"It is pretty cool," Bortner said . "Before it [the library] was alright, but I would only go to the movies and music section. It now seems more welcoming and less drab."

Sarah Cobbett, a sixth grader at Jordan expressed similar sentiments.

"I will probably go a bit more because there is more of a selection," Cobbett said. "I think that this is a really good decision because the only people that came here were high school students, older people, or kids for the children’s section."

Tomorrow from 2:30-3:30 p.m. there will be a second grand opening party at the Mitchell Park Library, open to the public.