The mission of the Roxbury Public Library Teen Advisory Board (TAB) is to strengthen the bridge between the teen community and the library, to encourage teen participation and to share the diverse ideas, interests and voices of teens.
TAB is an opportunity for middle and high school students in Roxbury to develop valuable leadership skills while contributing to the library and the Roxbury community. TAB members are active, creative, passionate advocates for the library and dedicate considerable time and energy to creating and executing projects that support its mission.
TAB runs from October to June, and members are selected at the start of the school year.
What are the eligibility requirements to apply for TAB?
You must:
• Be in grades 8-12 in the 2025-2026 school year (Please note: exceptional 8th graders may be accepted on a provisional basis).
• Be a Roxbury resident or attend a school in Roxbury.
• Have an active Roxbury Public Library card in your own name. Library cards that are expired or belong to a family member will not be accepted.
What is the application process?
Applications will open on July 14 and the application must be completed by Sept. 12. You’ll need your library card number on hand. You’ll also need to submit two reference forms by the deadline date. Applications are not complete without an active library card number and two reference forms.
All applicants will hear back by Oct. 10 regarding admission into the program.
Please note that while we encourage all student engagement at the library, the Teen Advisory Board membership has limited capacity and we aim to ensure the board is a balanced representation of the Roxbury teen community.
What are the requirements of a TAB member?
As a TAB member, you are required to:
• Support teen literacy initiatives. All TAB members are required to create at least one short social media video that promotes a YA book in the library’s collection. Members also commit to participating and completing Teen Summer Reading 2026.
• Participate in monthly planning meetings. TAB currently meets once a month on the third Thursday at 5:30 p.m. from October 2025 to June 2026. Meetings last one hour. TAB members are expected to attend every meeting. If you foresee having conflicts that would cause you to miss more than 2 meetings, this may not be the right fit for you at this time.
• Contribute 10 hours of volunteering with the library over the course of the school year. TAB members will be provided with volunteer opportunities; they are also welcome to suggest others.
• Collaborate with your peers and library staff to plan and execute teen programs.
What kind of projects does TAB do?
In support of the library’s mission and vision, TAB’s various projects focus on:
• Teen literacy – You will support initiatives that promote books and reading to teens.
• Programs and engagement – You will brainstorm, plan and execute dynamic small- and large-scale library programs for teens.
• Teen space and services – You will assist with services and projects to make a Teen Center that is welcoming and exciting for all teens.
• Social media outreach – You will create digital content that promotes the library’s teen initiatives to the wider teen community through the library’s teen social media accounts, including Instagram, TikTok, and Spotify.
Will TAB fulfill a service requirement?
As volunteer service requirements vary from organization to organization, we can not guarantee that TAB fulfills your program’s requirements. It’s important to contact your organization to make sure the hours count toward your service requirements.
