Renton Public Library has long been stocked with resources for children and teens, including books, CDs and DVDs. Both the downtown and Highlands branches have also long featured storytimes for preschoolers and up, plus a summer reading program for youngsters. But that’s where the youth programs ended — until new children’s librarian Jessica Marie started last November.

Marie has organized an assortment of activities for children and teens this summer, both centered around distinct themes. Young children were encouraged to “Catch the Reading Bug!” The summer theme for teens is “Metamorphosis.” Children’s events began the afternoon of June 30 with a buggy craft and snack workshop and ended Monday with a Cinderella tale told with bug marionettes.

Teen programs began with a game day June 27 and ended

with an anime festival Aug. 22. Marie also started a summer reading program for teens. The 75 to 100 teens who read 15 hours or more were entered into a prize drawing including gift cards and an iPod.

Library Director Bette Anderson is happy with Marie’s expanded programming.

“I’m really pleased,” she says. “We had done a great job serving the Storytime group, then (when they grew older) it was like they don’t exist anymore. We don’t want to do that. We want to serve all populations.”

Anderson says although the pre-Jessica Marie library had some youth programs “scattered around,” Renton’s previous children’s librarian Jerene Battisti focused on the Storytime crowd because she considered that the best use of her time and efforts.

“Everyone brings a different perspective to the job,” Anderson says.

Marie’s perspective has a lot to do with her background. She spent three years as the young adult librarian at Tigard Public library, in Oregon, before coming to Renton. There she built a loyal teen following.

“For me, programming is part of the core of library services,” Marie says. “Our goal is to get kids into the library, becoming life-long library users, and programming is the key to it.”

Most teens come to the library to use the computers — and hopefully check out books, Marie says.

This summer’s activities drew more teens into the library than usual, but perhaps not as many as Marie had hoped.

Although July 11’s “Summer Chocolate Festival” drew a large crowd eager to learn about the origin of the dessert (and enjoy some sweets along the way), events like Aug. 15’s “Second Time Cool” were less well-attended.

Marie had oodles of supplies on hand for the workshop, like books on how to transform T-shirts and make books, and baskets containing tulle, glitter, paint and other accessories. Marie even had samples of books turned into purses and reworked T-shirts and skirts.

But only two teens came to get crafty. Granted, the two-hour session was in the middle of a beautiful, 90-degree day.

Yet the session’s two attendees seemed to enjoy themselves.

Bridget Rowe, 14, of Renton, brought flip flops to fix up.

“I thought they were really cheap looking, so I’m trying to make them not look so plasticky,” Rowe said. “I’m going to wind some yarn and maybe put flowers on it.” She bought the pastel shoes from Goodwill.

Maddie Winders-Gaddis, 12, who lives near Burien, used the session to decorate a small box with purple glitter. Maddie’s mom Marie — a Renton senior library assistant — encourages her to attend library events.

She said she came to the craft workshop at her mom’s request. But a love of anime drove Maddie’s plans to attend the anime festival.

Many of the summer library programs for younger children were well-attended, such as the bug craft session and the party called “Spiderwick Adventures,” named after the “Spiderwick Chronicles” children’s book series. But “mixed” is the word Marie uses to describe attendance at this summer’s teen activities.

“But that’s normal for teen programs during the summer,” she says. “Even at my last library — where I had a strong teen following — summer was iffy.”

Marie doesn’t consider the mixed attendance an indicator of failure.

“Any program where teens come have fun and say thanks is successful,” she says.

Promotion, or lack of it, could be a reason the youth programs were better attended than those for teens. Marie visited a slew of Renton grade schools, where she told children and their teachers about the library programs. But she wasn’t able to get time in any middle or high schools.

“The next key to the teen stuff is being able to recruit better,” Marie says.

She plans to do that with a teen advisory board, to start this fall.

The 15 or so teens in the group will help develop library programs.

Reaching teens is always difficult, says Anderson, the library director.

They’re always busy, and “nothing’s cool when you’re a teen,” she says.

Still, like Marie, Anderson knows the teenage group of prospective library attendees is out there.

“It’s just a matter of time and encouraging them to come,” she says.

Anderson encourages Marie’s youth and teen programming, but doesn’t want her to overwork herself. Anderson hopes to add staff next year. But for now, Marie is the only children’s librarian, and that means her job includes much more than just programming.

“My only concern with Jessica is that she not do too much,” Anderson says.