Seamless Youth Services for Every Age and Stage

by Karis Loop

The tweens aren't the only "in-between" years in a child’s life―the storytime-to-school age and teen-to-adult transitions are just as momentous, and as tricky to address when it comes to programming. That’s certainly one factor behind the phenomenon of declining attendance and library use as the age of the youth patrons increases. Transitional programming is the answer. This book shows that by offering transitional programming, which helps children move to the next stage in their library experience, libraries can bolster program attendance, circulation rates, and general library use as children grow. Guiding libraries to assist children as they move from one youth service stage to the next, this book Youth services is a continuum, not a series of distinct stages; this book will help libraries meet the needs of every child, no matter their age.

78 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2019

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a new Youth Services Librarian (covering every age from Early Literacy-New Adults) and every combo in between, this book will be of a great help to you.
It is essentially trying to empathize with the librarians who do have to be the resource librarian for all of these services and needs.

It gives a basic overview of programming for youth services (planning, surveying, implementing, and evaluating each), as well as how to structure program formula and how to market to transitioning age groups (something not often seen in most youth service books I've read)

One of the biggest takeaways from this book that I appreciated, were the "Time Travel" blurbs throughout. They are featured in each age range's section (toddlers, preK, Kindergarten through 1st Grade, 3-5, 4-8, tween, high school, and recent graduate (aka the 18/19/20 year olds). It demonstrates a strong reminder to the librarian to ask themselves, HEY do you remember when you were this age? How did that make you feel about the library? Why did or didn't you go to programs? These are important questions and deserve honest solid answers from anyone wishing to work in this field and to further develop their skills.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consice and to the point, this book provided good ideas and strategies especially for transtional programming for all ages in youth. (From toddler to kids, from kids to teens and from teens to young adults).

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet with some good ideas on how to retain patrons throughout their childhood and teen years.

[Jennifer Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick read with some great pointers on creating library programs for those children who don’t perfectly fit into one typical age classification.