Promising Practices for Youth Services in Pennsylvania's Public Libraries

Below are suggested topics for library administrators to cover with new youth services professionals.  Your current onboarding procedures may already cover these topics.  It is essential to provide a solid foundation for the delivery of effective youth services to the community, and a well-informed youth services professional is essential in forwarding the library’s vison and mission. 

• Review job description and overall position expectations
  • Long term goals
  • Short term goals
  • Work hours and schedule, including on and off desk hours
• Share vision and mission statement(s) of the library
• Outline library ecosystem
  • Type of organization
  • District and/or system (if applicable)
    • District Consultant and Youth Services District Consultant/Coordinator
    • Services and resources provided
    • Member libraries
  • Office of Commonwealth Libraries and statewide resources
  • Professional organizations
  • Community
    • Demographics and community perception of the library
    • Outreach to the community
    • Existing partnerships with community organizations
    • Where to find information on the community
    • External communications and social media
• Outline organizational chart
  • Library departments
  • Library positions
  • How the youth services position fits into the organization
  • Schedule 1:1 meetings with colleagues to understand roles and responsibilities
  • Review of library culture
    • Staff meetings and trainings schedule
    • Internal communications
    • Mentoring, coaching, and professional development opportunities
    • Avoiding burnout and maintaining wellness
• Review library policies and procedures
  • Bulletin board and/or display case policy
  • Circulation policy
  • Collection development policy
  • Customer service policy
  • Donations policy
  • Internet use policy, Wi-Fi policy, and CIPA
  • Materials reconsideration policy and procedures
  • Meeting room use policy
  • Patron behavior policy
  • Patron privacy policy
  • Photography and videography policy
  • Social media policy
  • Staff policy and procedures
• Review library budget
  • How the library budget is determined
  • Youth services budgets for collections and programming
  • Funding sources
  • Fundraising for the library
• Tour youth services professional spaces
  • Planning, preparation, and storage areas
  • Youth services circulation and/or information desk
  • Youth services programming areas
  • Policies specific to youth services spaces
    • Unattended child policy
    • Adults in youth spaces policy
    • Youth services internet access and safety policy

Support of youth services professionals is one of the most important factors in a library administrator’s job.  Advocating for an excellent youth services program provides a foundational library experience for all young people and supports the library’s position as a vested partner in the educational ecosystem. 

A library administrator:

• Advances 21^st Century Library Skills for youth of all ages
• Embraces and promotes learning opportunities for youth of all ages

• Encourages professional development for youth services professionals
• Guides creation of youth services professional schedule with time for outreach and off circulation/information desk work
• Encourages creativity for youth services professionals to develop, implement, and evaluate programs and services to the community
• Engages youth services professionals in goal setting, decision making, and strategic planning
• Communicates realistic expectations about year-round youth services programming