In 1967, three women founded a public library in what was then a town of less than 2,000 people. Heavily based on volunteers and donations, the Allen Public Library evolved through five decades in five different buildings and now serves a city of more than 90,000 citizens.

In October, the library celebrated its 50th anniversary. Throughout its 50 years, the Allen Public Library has connected with the youth of Allen with its activities and volunteer programs.

“The initial library really didn’t have programs, it was focused on the books, and even in larger libraries that was true to a large extent back in the mid-’60s,” Allen Public Library Director Jeff Timbs said. “Once the library got into the ‘90s, there was an idea of doing more programs for children who were not preschoolers then eventually trying to get into teen programs and preteen programs.”

The Allen Public Library has since broadened the range of programs it offers. The latest library building has a large children’s section and a smaller section for young adults called TeenScape. It hosts events targeted towards teenagers, such as Nerf gun wars and water gun fights, pop culture-themed events for subjects like Harry Potter and Doctor Who, an anime night and a volunteer program for teens.

“I think it’s a thing they don’t normally get to do in other places,” Youth Services Manager Claudia Wayland said. “The public library tries to be the bridge between learning and entertainment, and teens are looking for the place where they’re not treated like little kids but they don’t have to hang around adults. We let them do the things that they want to do.”

The library also manages its high participant VolunTeens program. VolunTeens is the public library’s volunteer program for ages 13-18. Volunteers apply for through an online application, and once accepted to the program, can sign up for shifts to volunteer , similar to a part-time job.

“I wanted to help out people and I wanted to be part of the community,” junior and library volunteer Justin Pham said. “It helped me be outgoing — helping people and talking to people has really built my social level, helping me get better skills later in life.”

VolunTeens can provide students with service hours for school service organizations. Some volunteers such as junior and library volunteer Michelle Tran participated in activities at the library when they were young.

“When I was little I did activities here, and in middle school I came to their film nights,” Tran said. “I have a family friend that did this when she was a teen and told me that it was fun and easy to get hours I do enjoy the library and volunteering and interacting with the kids. I think it’s important to have programs like this, it helps kids meet other people and interact.”

Despite many changes in the past 50 years, Wayland believes that the library and its programs continue to keep with the quality that was initially present in 1967.

“The women who started the Allen Public Library were very driven, focused on offering the best services and library for the community, even if it was very small at the time,” Wayland said. “They were educated women who wanted what was best for Allen, and I feel like we still try to keep the residents of Allen in mind, we try to do the highest quality possible with what we have.”

Historically, the community of Allen has shown support for the public library. Since 1967, the community has approved four bond elections to build a bigger library, with a bond to expand the current library approved in 2016.

“It’s really a grassroots support,” said Timbs. “Each time, they’ve very easily passed those bond elections to say ‘Yes, we think the library’s important, and we want to see the library continue to grow and expand and be able to meet the needs of the public.’”