Youth Services, services for children and teens ages birth to 18
years, is a specialty track of Minnesota Career Renewal.
Welcome to the wonderful world of library service to young people.
You have the opportunity to influence their lives in any number of
ways, from birth through high school. You will see them in
preschool story hours, on Saturday and after school, and in that
sometimes most dreaded form--in a group with teenaged friends.
And if you have formed a lasting attachment to the library as a
place of learning and entertainment, you will continue to see them
into their adult years, as they bring their own children to this
wonderful place that has meant so much to them through the years.
Youth Services, A Guide: for Developing Self & Others, for
Developing Services Responses, for Developing Lifelong Learners
Collaboratively is a workbook designed to outline the roles and
competencies needed to work with children and teens in a public library
setting. Although the guide refers to Youth Services staff, all
library staff need to be aware of these competencies and extend
the same courtesies and sevices to their younger patrons as they
do to older ones.
Effective library service for children and youth requires a broad
range of expertise and professional skills. Through using the
guide, and the staff responsibilities and activities included in it, staff
will evaluate thir current practices and discover more ways to deliver
these services. These can be easily adapted to fit a particular community
and to take in account such factors as staff numbers, library location,
community makeup, and financial resources.
The guide is designed to help, managers, supervisors, educators
and trainers, coordinators of youth services, staff currently working in
youth services, or staff preparing to assume new job responsibillities in
youth services. The guide will be useful for:
- Setting learning
objectives
- Hiring, training, coaching and evaluating staff working in
children's services
- Planning and presenting the services and roles of staff
working in youth services to others
- Assessing performance levels
- Setting
priorities for and focussing of service.
- Learning Resources
Youth Services, A Guide may be purchased from the Minnesota
Library Association, 1619 Dayton Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104.
Return to Career Renewal Home Page.
Updated on January 3, 2003.