It's good that you've waited until the girl has finished making her call before telling her about the no phones rule. This might be the first time she's visited the library and she might genuinely not know that mobiles aren't allowed.
It's always a good idea to try to make your first conversation with young people a positive one so you might want to leave talking about the rules until you've got a good relationship with them. If they feel that you are criticising their behaviour they probably won't come back and if they do, they are likely to see you as an enemy and someone to provoke.

Ask your colleagues for ideas about how you can be flexible with library rules.

Even though you're probably joking, the young people might feel that you're judging them by telling them that they're too old for baby books. They're probably just having fun but it's possible that they're looking at the books because they have low literacy levels or responsibility for looking after young children. Everybody loves baby books so why not validate their interest by asking them about their favourite children's stories?
Talking about the homework club was a good idea because you're trying to engage them with something that might interest them. The young people might have just come in for a chat with their friends though and your suggestion might seem a bit random and boring to them.

Ask them about the books that they're looking at. It's always a good idea to show an interest in what young people are doing, even if you think they're only out to cause trouble. When they see that you're not going to judge them, they usually relax and become more helpful and friendly.

Ask them for their help. Perhaps your teenage area could do with revamping or maybe you don't know which websites young people like to look at. Young people respond well to people who seem to be genuinely interested in what they have to say.

<< begin again

Now go on to the next scenario, Understanding Young People