BELFAST - The funky risers and bean bags are gone from the second-floor room in the Belfast Free Library once reserved for small children. Also gone are the model trains and miniature puppet theater. In their place, sleek red carpet squares over a layer of high-tech soundproofing foam run uninterrupted to the walls. New shelves are stocked with YA books. There are chairs and tables for lounging and socializing and and outlets — lots of them — for charging mobile devices, laptops, etc.

The room reopened last week as dedicated space for teenagers. Computers, a TV monitor for the occasional gaming event and some new beanbags are on the way. In the meantime, the space offers something that the old teen area didn’t: a little distance from the quiet adult areas.

For a long time, the teen area has long been on the library’s main floor, adjacent to the main circulation desk, but Library Director Steve Norman said the central location didn’t work well for teens, or for adults reading or working on the same floor.

“It gets loud there and it’s not separate enough,” he said. “There were always adults sitting in there using their computers, and  it there was not enough space for teens.”

To a lesser degree, the library needed space on the main floor. Norman said the mystery and large-print sections are threatening to outgrow their current locations. On the flip side, he said, there’s an ongoing possibility that the library could pare down the reference section as the Internet makes certain print reference materials less useful. There are no concrete plans for the former teen space, he said, except that it will likely be used for some part of the library’s regular collection.

“We’re measuring,” he said, meaning shelf space, with a tape measure.

A previous plan in conjunction with Waterfall Arts to set up the main floor space with a 3-D printer and several other pieces of high-tech creative equipment has been put on the back burner for now, Norman said.

The library will also be offering some teen programming, he said, and a new teen advisory group will help come up with some of the rules for the new space on the second floor. 

The new teen area is located on the same floor as children’s books. Norman said other libraries in the state have had success with a similar layout.

The anticipated 11 to 14 age range, he said, has enough in common with younger patrons to avoid major conflicts of style. And there’s always the rest of the library.

“The can still go anywhere, but they should have their own comfortable space,” he said.

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com