From Hastings to Ashburton, librarians inspire Teen Sub Box programme success

After hearing Hastings District librarians share information about their Teen Sub Box programme in 2025, I came away inspired and excited to try it here in Ashburton.

The Teen Sub Box is a free monthly book subscription service for young adults that matches teens with surprise library books and other goodies based on changing monthly themes.

Following the Hastings model, each box includes three books, a snack, and a craft activity. The idea was so strong that there was no need to reinvent the wheel for Ashburton — we simply adapted a programme that was already working brilliantly.

In our first month we had three teens sign up. Within a couple of months, that number had grown to 15, and we now have 22 enthusiastic 12–18-year-olds taking part, with an average age of 15.

As Youth Librarian, it’s up to me to try and match the craft to the theme of the box, and these have ranged from felt badges through to laser-cut iris boxes for teens to assemble.

When the boxes are returned, I check the book feedback forms, where teens rate each book out of five stars. This feedback has become a fantastic way to highlight teen voices, and we can now use their ratings to create displays that showcase our teen collection through the eyes of the young people reading it.

It has been wonderful to see our teens embrace the boxes, enjoy the surprise element, and connect with the library in a fresh and exciting way. We are also very fortunate to have an amazing makerspace here in Ashburton, which has opened even more creative possibilities for what we can offer.

This has been such a positive example of libraries sharing great ideas across communities, and I want to extend a huge thank-you to the librarians at Hastings District Libraries for generously sharing their programme which has now sparked such an enthusiastic response here in Ashburton.

Anna Mattson
Youth Librarian, Ashburton Library