The application period to be a Teen Reading Ambassador is currently closed. Occasionally positions become available throughout the year and will be posted on NYPL's Careers page. Find open positions here.
Portal: NYPL's Magazine Created by Teens
Portal is a magazine written, designed, and edited by NYPL’s Teen Reading Ambassadors! Aimed at an audience of kids ages 6–12, Portal contains stories and features, fun facts, comics, activities, and much more specially created by the Teen Reading Ambassadors for each of our issues.
The cohort of spring 2021 chose the magazine's name, which means a "doorway or an entrance to something new," to reflect the role books and libraries play as portals to exciting new worlds.
Our first issue celebrated New York City and its diverse communities, our second issue was all about magic, and our third issue is about dreams. Check them out and get inspired to become a Teen Reading Ambassador yourself!
New from the Teen Reading Ambassadors
Issue 3 of Portal Magazine is available online now, and in NYPL branches starting Monday, August 7! To give you a taste of what you’ll find in the magazine, we interviewed the Teen Reading Ambassadors, chatted with an NYPL staff member, and compiled dreamy book recommendations to go along with the Issue 3 theme: dreams.
Book Recommendations and Downloadables for Kids, by Teens!
Read book recommendations for kids and download posters to hang on your wall—all written and designed by the Teen Reading Ambassadors!
Teen Centers at NYPL
Hang out, get creative, and much more at the Library's newly expanded and enhanced Teen Centers! These welcoming spaces in libraries across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island have been created just for teens and are open for you to collaborate, make new friends, read, and enjoy all the Library has to offer. From video equipment to gaming consoles to art supplies—everything is free to use!
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Free Events & Programs
AttendAll the Library’s events and programs for teens are free, from book and manga discussions to arts and crafts, tech workshops, and our TeenLIVE author talks. Explore the calendar to find something for you!
Photo © Isseu Diouf Campbell for Afrikanspot LLC
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Teen Civics Ambassadors
Learn MoreNYPL’s Teen Civics Ambassadors program offers internships to teens to help develop job readiness and leadership skills, with a focus on library resources, civics, and peer-to-peer engagement. Get paid to create fun, exciting events and resources at the Library for other teens, and encourage your peers to learn about and become active participants in your communities!
Applications open December, 2023.
More from NYPL for Teens
Discover free one-on-one homework help, college and career counseling, volunteer opportunities, book recommendations, free resources, and more that the Library has to offer teens.
Our Supporters
These programs and initiatives are part of the Library’s Tisch Youth Education Programs, led by the Merryl and James Tisch Director of Branch Libraries and Education. Major support for educational programming is provided by Merryl H. and James S. Tisch.
Major support for children's and young adult programming is provided by the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Family Endowment for Young Audiences.
Major support for youth education is provided by Arthur W. Koenig; the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF); Mr. and Mrs. Timothy R. Barakett Endowment for Children’s and Young Adult Programs and Services; The Gottesman Fund; Mr. and Mrs. Evan R. Chesler; Robert A. and Elizabeth R. Jeffe Foundation; Michael ByungJu Kim and the MBK Educational Foundation; New York Life Foundation; Verizon Foundation; the Gray Foundation; and City’s First Readers, an initiative made possible with funding from the New York City Council.
The Teen Civics Ambassadors program is made possible by the generous support of The Gottesman Fund.
