Young Journalists Turn the Library into a Newsroom

In a small corner office in the Rockville Centre Public Library — known to some as the newsroom — students from South Side Middle and High Schools churn out copy for their newest, seasonal newsletter, "The Sights and Sounds of Summer."

Editor-In-Chief David Kane, 18, sits at an antiquated computer, trying to lay out the library-run Newspaper Club's newest eight-page edition.

"It's usually more relaxed in here," Kane said. "But it's going to be a tight turnaround."

The club, which Kane started last summer, is comprised of a group of upstart journalists who share one passion: writing. So far, the club has printed two other newsletters, which were filled with book/movie reviews, op-eds and stories on library programs. Kane said the idea was to have students write about things they love, while keeping their brains sharp during the summer.

"I just want to keep up their intellectual stimulation," he said.

Hannah O'Connor, 10, is going into her first year at the middle school, and said she joined the Newspaper Club because she loves writing."It's just really fun," she said. "I love to write about animals."

She added that she recently joined the summer school newspaper program at SSMS, and hopes to continue writing for the Newspaper Club's future issues.

In the newest edition, Kane said reporters wrote reviews on "Toy Story 3" and "A Tree Grows in  Brooklyn," which is on the library's summer reading list. He explained that his passion for journalism started in middle school as well, but he learned more of the structure and nuances of journalism by writing for the high school paper.

"I wanted to make our paper an amalgamation of everything I've learned over the years," Kane said.

He noted that over the past year, he's learned how to be a better editor, rather than an older colleague to the staff. "I've just become stricter," he said. "As time went on, the respect dipped. This time around, I try to keep strict deadlines and help them as much as I can."

Kane added that the paper did have one investigative piece in it. "We wrote a story about how old the computers are here, and why they run so slow," he said.