Teens make noise and they need a little space.

But when they interacted with each other in their old space at the Auburn Public Library, they got the stereotypical librarian response: “Shhhh,” library Director Lynn Lockwood said.

Since August, they’re not hearing as many “shhhhs.”

Thanks to grant money, the library has built a new Teen Space, a room complete with doors and glass walls.

The room will be shown off at 3:30 p.m. Friday when individuals behind the grant will be thanked and the space celebrated with a simple ceremony.

The grants came from Proctor & Gamble, which gave the library $20,000 to build the room, and Stephen and Tabitha King, who donated $9,000 for teen programs such as homework tutoring.

Area residents from Procter & Gamble’s Tambrands in Auburn supported the grant by recommending it, Lockwood said, adding that it wouldn’t have happened without them. “P & G likes to support community in areas where they have operations,” she said.

Traditionally, libraries had spaces for children and adults but left out teens, said Barbara Trafton, a fundraiser for the library’s 2006 expansion. “We were losing that group,” she said. “They didn’t feel they had a home here.” When the library was renovated, “we came up with the concept of a teen space.”

But the old space on the main level had no walls. Teens couldn’t talk without bothering others. Some have no place to go after school; the library is a safe place for them to hang out and do homework.

One day Lockwood was talking to Jacob, a boy who visits the library often. She asked him what he would like at the library. “A room with walls, so we could get together and talk without bothering anybody,” Jacob answered.

Lockwood applied for grant money. “And here it is,” she said Tuesday, standing in the upper-level room. “He got his wish.”

The room opened in August and is used heavily after school, Lockwood. The room is about 25 by 25 feet, with gold-painted walls and brick trim. Artwork hanging on the walls is from 1960s-era sci-fi movies. The room has tables for games or cards or hanging out, and racks of magazines. Bookshelves and teen librarian Sally Holt are just outside the room.

An alcove with tables and chairs offers a separate, quieter space for homework. While the P & G grant built the walls, the King grant provides programs on homework, job preparation and volunteerism.

Libraries are healthy spots for everyone, especially teens, Lockwood said. “Libraries across the country are having a teen boom,” she said. “One of the things libraries do is teach civic engagement: ‘You can borrow this, but you have to bring it back.’”

In the room, teens have to keep their talk “to a low roar,” Lockwood said. And they have to lower their voices as they come up the stairs. Other rules, such as checking skateboards at the desk, are enforced, she said.