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COMPETENCIES FOR CHILDREN'S LIBRARIANS
INTRODUCTION
These competencies are designed for the use of librarians serving children
in the state of New Jersey. For the purposes of this document, the ages
of the patrons primarily served by children’s librarians will be
defined as children from birth through early adolescence. In individual
libraries, the definition of adolescence varies, beginning anywhere from
ages 12–14, or grades six to eight. The role of librarians serving
children includes the competencies already presented in the following
documents developed for the New Jersey Library Association: NJLA
Core Competencies for Librarians, and New Jersey Library Association
Reference
and Information Services Competencies. This document focuses on the specific
competencies required for serving children. Competencies produced by
various other sources, especially the revised edition of Competencies
for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries published by the
Association of Library Service to Children, a division of the American
Library Association, have been consulted in preparing this document.
SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge of Patron Group
- Understands all stages of
child development and how those stages relate to library service to
children.
- Recognizes the impact of society on the needs of children.
- Identifies
and evaluates the needs and resources of the community.
- Recognizes the
needs of a diverse community, including patrons with special needs,
multi-ethnic backgrounds, and varying socio-economic
circumstances.
- Understands the needs of parents, caregivers, teachers,
students of library studies and children’s literature, and other
adults who use the resources of the children’s department.
- Fosters
and maintains relationships with other agencies and organizations
serving children within the community.
Knowledge of Materials
- Demonstrates a thorough knowledge of children’s literature,
periodicals, audiovisual media, and electronic resources for a variety
of reading
and comprehension levels.
- Keeps abreast of new materials by consulting
review journals, by attending professional meetings and conferences,
and by reading, viewing and
listening to current materials for children.
- Maintains a knowledge
of adult reference materials, especially those applicable to service
to children and their caregivers.
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
Collection Development
- Recognizes the needs of the community
in selecting print and non-print materials for the children’s
collection.
- Develops and maintains a balanced collection representing
various views, cultures, and philosophies.
- Prepares a written collection
development policy that incorporates guidelines for the selection
of materials that will ensure a broad
collection that meets the needs of patron interest and inquiry.
This policy will
include a formal method for the selection, review, and reconsideration
of materials.
Material Selection
- Uses a variety of professional review
journals and other selection tools to choose print and non-print materials
and electronic resources
suitable for the children’s department.
- Selects new materials
in a timely manner to ensure that children will have access to
current ideas and developments.
- Provides for easy patron input into the choice of materials and
stays alert to changes in local school assignments, popular requests,
and cultural
trends.
- Attends book evaluation programs, visits bookstores, and
takes advantage of other opportunities to see and evaluate materials
firsthand.
Collection Maintenance
- Weeds the collection on a regular basis to eliminate worn or outdated
materials.
- Constructs and applies appropriate evaluation techniques
to all collection formats, including books, periodicals, audiovisual
resources, websites
and electronic databases.
- Evaluates the use of the collection, selects
items to fill collection gaps and removes items that are no longer
used by the community.
- Develops a collection purchasing plan to replace
standard items and to purchase new print and non-print materials.
Technical Services
- Works with technical services personnel
to order materials for the collection in a timely fashion.
- Maintains
a knowledge of the system used by the library to catalog materials.
- Assists
the technical services staff with the placement of children’s
materials in the appropriate collection categories.
REFERENCE AND READERS’ ADVISORY SERVICES
Information Needs
- Assesses the information needs of
the patron through an effective reference interview.
- Understands the
needs of the patron for material written at the child’s
level of understanding, taking into account the age, temperament, and
existing knowledge of the child.
- Assists patrons in determining which
of the available sources best meets their information needs, utilizing
print and non-print materials
and appropriate electronic sources.
Recreation Needs
- Assists patrons in finding items appropriate
for their reading interests and abilities.
- Displays a depth of knowledge
of children’s literature, assuring
that recommendations will match the child’s interest and needs.
- Develops
a knowledge of children’s literature for all ages,
fiction and non-fiction, both through personal reading and by maintaining
awareness
of popular and award-winning books.
- Works enthusiastically to develop
and foster a love of reading in the children of the community through
book talks, displays, and personal
recommendations.
- Incorporates all types of media into the collection,
including video and audio formats, especially for children with special
needs.
Bibliographies
- Creates print bibliographies on a wide
variety of subjects and grade levels to meet the needs of the community.
- Produces
bibliographies on specific topics that are of local or current interest.
- Uses
electronic formats effectively to make recommended lists of books,
audiovisual materials, and websites.
- Encourages collaboration with
schools and other agencies to produce bibliographies that will be
of use to the children and families
who use those agencies and institutions.
Curriculum Connections
- Cultivates an awareness of curriculum
developments in the schools within the community.
- Selects and markets
collections that support the curriculum needs of the children in
the community.
- Encourages teachers and curriculum coordinators to use
the resources and knowledge of the public library staff when appropriate.
- Seeks
to develop avenues of cooperation and collaboration with the school
media specialists, including resource sharing.
PROGRAMMING SKILLS
Programming for Various Ages
- Designs, promotes, executes, and evaluates programs for children
of all ages (including those with special needs), such as storytimes,
book talks, activity programs, summer reading clubs, and book discussion
groups.
- Identifies and selects age-appropriate materials for use
in programming.
- Offers a variety of programs or brings in skilled
resource people or professional performers to present programs on
a wide variety
of topics
(i.e., storytelling, book talking, creative writing, puppet shows,
creative dramatics, magic, and craft workshops) that are of interest
to a diverse
population.
- Publicizes library programs and events and provides
reasonable accommodations to enable patrons with special needs to
attend programs.
- Compiles and incorporates program statistics in departmental
reports.
- Measures cost-effectiveness of programs offered.
- Works to promote
the joy of reading through the programs.
Outreach and Specialized Programming
- Provides outreach
programs for local schools, day-care centers, nursery schools, and
other community agencies both in-house and off-site.
- Creates new programming
that complements and supplements programs and
services currently offered within the community, for parents, teachers,
adult caregivers, adults working with children, and other community
agencies.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Interaction with Children and Adults
- Conveys information
and recommendations in a friendly manner to children of all ages and
to adults.
- Relates well to children and adults.
- Demonstrates familiarity with
the fundamentals of child development and psychology.
- Treats all patrons
with respect, regardless of age, socio-economic background, and culture.
- Maintains
a sense of humor.
Advocacy for Children’s Needs and Rights
- Defines and articulates
the needs of children and educates other library staff members, the
administration, and the community at large about children’s
needs.
- Collaborates and communicates with local agencies to identify
needs within the community.
- Keeps abreast of current news and legislation
in areas that affect children’s rights and their access to information.
- Establishes
and maintains a community resource file for referrals.
- Serves as a
liaison to other groups and agencies dealing with children.
Communication and Public Relations Skills
- Articulates ideas
clearly and effectively when called to speak or write as a library
and child advocate.
- Listens to the ideas and needs of children and takes
appropriate
action.
- Conducts market research using a variety of techniques, including
interviews, surveys, focus groups, and the study of demographics.
- Promotes
services and programs through press releases, exhibits, flyers, public
service announcements, brochures, booklists, pathfinders,
etc.
for distribution both in-house and throughout the community.
- Contributes
to and/or develops and maintains a webpage and establishes an e-mail
address for patrons to communicate directly with the children’s
staff of the library.
- Utilizes other community sources such as school
newspapers, town bulletins, and business publications to promote
services.
- Reaches out to special populations within the community by
using foreign language newspapers and by creating special flyers
and brochures
in a
variety of languages that reflect the community profile.
Networks
- Joins professional listserves and actively participates.
- Attends conferences
and workshops.
- Reads professional literature, including journals and
manuals.
- Establishes contacts with local schools to keep abreast of
curriculum changes and other local issues.
- Maintains a supportive
working relationship with local youth services librarians from other
libraries and with youth services
providers
from other agencies and organizations.
ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Planning
- Participates in all aspects of the library’s
planning process and serves as an advocate for the special needs of
children and the services
that meet those needs.
- Formulates both long- and short-range goals and
objectives for service in conjunction with the library’s planning
and budgetary processes.
- Applies sound knowledge of the stages of child
development in planning services and programs for children.
Departmental Budgeting
- Analyzes and articulates the costs of
providing library service to children for the purpose of justifying
and administering the library
budget.
- Works with library administration to develop specific departmental
line items for the library budget.
- Utilizes output measures to determine
the effectiveness of services.
- Measures the cost-effectiveness of
programs.
Management of Children’s Department Staff
- Writes
job descriptions for children’s services staff; interviews,
hires, trains, supervises, and evaluates all staff and volunteers assigned
to the Children’s Department.
- Recruits and utilizes volunteers
to assist support staff.
- Delegates responsibilities appropriately
to support staff and reevaluates job flow and work assignments at
regular intervals.
Customer Service
- Recognizes the importance of good customer
service and provides a variety of services to meet the diverse needs
of children.
- Surveys the community to determine needs.
- Educates staff and administration
regarding the necessity of maintaining full access to information
and recreational materials for children.
Fundraising
- Identifies and seeks alternative sources
for funding and writes effective grant applications.
- Solicits donations
for programs and special projects when appropriate.
Technology Skill Development
- Maintains an awareness
of ongoing technological advances and incorporates new and improved
technology into the plan of service to children.
- Attends workshops and
classes to keep abreast of changing technology.
- Participates with
other library departments to acquire databases and software and to
develop websites appropriate for children.
Professional Development
- Understands the importance
of ongoing professional development and works with the library’s
administration to ensure that all staff members are encouraged to attend
continuing-education conferences and
workshops to enhance their professional abilities.
- Serves as a member
of library and professional organizations at the local, regional, state,
and national levels (American Library
Association
[ALA], Association for Library Service to Children [ALSC], New Jersey
Library Association [NJLA], Children’s Services Section [CSS],
and the New Jersey Library Network through the regional cooperatives).
- Takes
part in appropriate networking opportunities within the profession
and the community.
DESIRABLE BEHAVIORS
Friendliness
- Maintains a welcoming demeanor toward children
of all ages and toward adults in the library.
- Remains sensitive to the
customs and cultures of the diverse population served by the library.
- Balances
a welcome and open manner toward children and their families, with
the need to control undisciplined behavior.
Cooperation
- Works well with library coworkers and is able to develop
and foster cordial working relationships with teachers and other
professionals.
- Fosters an awareness among other staff of the needs of
children and young adults in the library.
Creativity
- Develops unusual and interesting programs,
displays, and other avenues to promote services and collections to
youth and their families that
encourage use.
- Works on unique, library-based solutions to community
challenges.
Patience
- Shows willingness to listen and work with a
wide variety of patrons of all ages and backgrounds
- Demonstrates the
ability to work with children and adults who need additional library
support, in particular those with special needs.
Enthusiasm
- Demonstrates genuine excitement when working
with young people, parents, teachers, and all patrons concerned with
youth.
- Relates well to patrons of all ages, especially young people.
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