Dane County (WI) is home to the nation’s widest black/white economic and educational achievement gaps. The gaps contribute to a pipeline of accumulating risk factors that too often ends in Dane County’s justice system, which arrests and incarcerates more black youth on a per capita basis than any other jurisdiction in the U.S. (Wisconsin Council on Children & Families, 2013). Those who matriculate to the adult criminal justice system face a lifetime of discrimination in employment, housing, education, public benefits, voting, and jury rights. The State of Black Madison Coalition has recommended investments in out-of-school programs for underserved youth as a key mechanism for addressing these disparities (2008), and the City of Madison has established out-of-school opportunities as a goal for citywide improvement. In 2013, Madison Public Library partnered with the UW-Madison Center for Law, Society & Justice (CLSJ) to conduct a series of experiential learning programs with incarcerated teens—overwhelmingly low-income youth of color—at the Dane County Juvenile Detention Center. The 2013 pilot had the goals of fostering self-expression, skill development, and community engagement among participants, based on research showing that arts- and experiential-learning programs promotes positive self-expression among youth struggling with behavioral challenges. By engaging teens in a hands-on media project that interested them – animation creation – teens created projects documenting themselves, their communities, and the justice system.

The original 2013 programs with incarcerated youth focused on the library’s successful Animation Station programming with teens throughout the city. During the programs, teens worked with other teens to imagine a story, plan it out, film and edit the animation, then present their animation to the group. Through working together, teens had the opportunity to learn digital skills as well as have positive experiences working with others and sharing their own stories. Skill development included digitization and manipulation of images, audio, and text. In 2014, programming has expanded to include the library’s new programming model, The Bubbler. Examples of Bubbler projects with incarcerated youth include creation of an animated avatar representing the hidden self; digital game production illuminating geometric principles; map making; board game creation; and screen printing workshops. We are also in the process of expanding the Bubbler programming with teens to work with the Neighborhood Intervention Program in Madison, reaching at-risk teens in danger of entering the justice system. Collaborations were key to establishing the project and moving it forward. Teen Librarian Jesse Vieau worked with CLSJ staff and students to develop programming and gain access to teens in the justice system. Grant funding from the local Goodman Community Foundation allowed for the purchase of traveling animation stations and materials, which were also used in other programs for teens in several libraries and in area schools.

In 2013, library and CLSJ students visited incarcerated teens 27 times, reaching 260 participants. An additional 6 visits served 32 teens in a related program, ArtSpeak, which promoted self-expression among youth struggling with behavioral challenges and mental illness. In 2014 to date, 14 visits served 97 teens. In addition, the library’s connections led to an eight-week ARTinside project at the JDC in 2014 led by Bubbler artist-in-residence Victor Castro. Victor is involving teens in interactive, collaborative art projects using recycled materials found at the JDC. Victor has also helped the library solve a long-running inability to share photos of the programs by finding ways to artistically preserve the teens’ anonymity while showing off their artwork. Jesse’s success in innovative teen programming serving the youth of the JDC, local community centers, and working with teen interns to teach them real-life skills resulted in the addition of two teen librarians to the library’s 2014 operating budget. Interest in these well-received programs resulted in additional programming requests by the juvenile justice system. The library is seeking additional funding to expand the project and turn it into a weekly program that will involve a dedicated website to showcase student creations and will include local makers and artists as session facilitators, including residents of underserved Madison neighborhoods and members of UW’s First Wave Hip Hop and Urban Arts Learning Community. A future collaboration planned with UW-Madison School of Education colleagues will provide the opportunity to study how learning by students is measured and evaluated.