Friday, July 13, 2007

15:15:40

"Pimp My Cart" tries to get teens to Racine library

With no driver's licenses and no cars to work on, about a dozen teens and preteens here redesigned library carts as part of the "Pimp My Cart" program.

Brittney Putzer, 13, said working on the old carts of the Racine Public Library was better than "sitting at home doing nothing."

The effort to get more teens to the library was a spin off of the popular MTV show "Pimp My Ride," where average cars are given new life with new parts and features for a more distinguished look.

The weekend event even got a few complaints that the library would use the word "Pimp" in promotional materials, said Anne Callaghan, the organizer and the children's services librarian.

"I don't think you should use an old dictionary to try to defend a modern meaning of a word," said Callaghan.