Managing Children's Services in the Public Library » (3rd Edition)

ADELE M. FASICK is Professor Emerita, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto.

LESLIE E. HOLT is former Director of Youth Services, St Louis Public Library, and currently consults with libraries, schools and child serving agencies.

Everything children's librarians need to know about running a department in the public library! Section I deals with planning services in the context of a community. Section II covers maintaining a productive work environment, recruiting and retaining staff, communicating with colleagues, annual reports, budgeting and fundraising, planning facilities, and keeping the department safe and secure. Section III focuses on collection development, electronic resources, intellectual freedom, and reaching out to the community through programs and special events, working with other youth service organizations, and marketing children's services. Section IV suggests ways in which children's librarians can participate in the larger professional community of librarians.

Library Journal

Since the first edition of this title (Professional Reading, LJ 11/1/91), changes have taken place in children's services, library science, and our world. With this new release, Fasick (information studies, Univ. of Toronto) attempts to bring the reader into the next millennium of children's services with updated information, examples, and ideas. She emphasizes three main areas--the children's department, the library, and the community. Specific topics include children's librarians as managers, public relations, planning a program of services, and networking. Of broader appeal to all librarians are the sections on developing tools to meet program goals, creating a productive work environment, intellectual freedom and censorship, and preparing budgets. Fasick also addresses the issues of electronic communication via the Internet and security issues in libraries. Although some new subjects (e.g., recruiting and retaining staff, and fundraising) are discussed, the second edition, for the most part, is a duplication of the first, with some exact repetition of wording in sentences, sections, and paragraphs. While this book is well rounded and would be useful for library science students or in a public library, those who own the first edition can obtain the updated information via journals or other sources.--Ru Story-Huffman, Hagan Memorial Lib., Cumberland Coll., Williamsburg, KY

List of Figures

Sect. I Planning Services 1

Ch. 1 The Library in Its Community 3

Planning Services for Today's Children 4

Developing Services for the Community 7

Types of Services 8

References and Additional Reading 11

Ch. 2 Strategic Planning and Outcome Evaluation 13

Definitions 13

The Library's Mission 14

Establishing Children's Department Goals 15

Stating Goals and Objectives 17

Evaluating Achievement 21

Using the Results of Evaluation 23

References and Additional Reading 24

Sect. II Managing the Department 27

Ch. 3 Creating a Productive Work Environment 29

Supervising a Department 29

Personnel Supervised 31

Making Decisions 33

Communication within the Department 36

Format of Communication 39

References and Additional Reading 42

Ch. 4 Recruiting and Retaining Staff 43

Sources for Staff 43

Process of Hiring 44

Staff Retention 48

Performance Appraisal 55

References and Additional Reading 57

Ch. 5 Communication and Leadership 59

Building Awareness within the Library 60

Effective Informal Communication 61

More Formal Communication 63

Cooperating with Other Departments 66

Systemwide Coordinators of Children's Services 67

Tasks of a Children's Coordinator 68

Working without a Coordinator 74

References and Additional Reading 75

Ch. 6 Annual Children's Department Reports 77

Shaping Annual Reports 78

Graphics 82

Tailoring Reports to Different Groups 85

References and Additional Reading 87

Ch. 7 Budgeting, Finance, and Fundraising 89

The Budget Process 89

Fundraising 95

References and Additional Reading 105

Ch. 8 Planning Facilities 107

Managing the Children's Department Space 108

Renovating theChildren's Department 109

Planning New Libraries 114

References and Additional Reading 123

Ch. 9 Keeping Children Safe and Problem-free in the Library 125

Organizing to Maintain Security 125

Balancing the Needs of All Patrons 128

Common Emergencies 133

References and Additional Reading 136

Sect. III Managing Services 137

Ch. 10 Collection Management 139

Collection Development 140

Materials Acquisition 146

Collection Access 148

References and Additional Reading 153

Ch. 11 Electronic Resources and Services 155

Creating a Children's Department Website 156

Web 2.0 and Libraries 161

Keeping up with Technology 162

References and Additional Reading 162

Ch. 12 Intellectual Freedom and Censorship 165

Areas of Concern 167

Basic Intellectual Freedom Documents 167

Reacting to a Challenge 170

When Censor and Librarian Agree 172

Problems with Electronic Resources 172

Maintaining Intellectual Freedom in the Library 175

References and Additional Reading 175

Ch. 13 Organizing Special Events and Ongoing Programs 177

Preparing for an Event 177

Publicity 181

Staff Preparation 186

Working with Visiting Celebrities 187

Post-Event Tasks 189

Planning Ongoing Programs 190

References and Additional Reading 191

Ch. 14 Serving Schools, Daycares, and Child Serving Agencies 193

Outreach to Schools 194

Outreach to Daycare 200

Working with Child Serving Agencies 202

References and Additional Reading 203

Ch. 15 Marketing Children's Services 205

Overview 205

Public Relations Techniques 208

Evaluating Marketing and Public Relations 215

References and Additional Reading 216

Sect. IV Professional Development 217

Ch. 16 Sharing Ideas with Other Youth Librarians 219

Electronic Links 219

Networking within a System or Region 220

Moving beyond the System 221

Contributing to the Professional Dialogue 225

Importance of the Professional Dialogue 228

References and Additional Reading 228

Bibliography 229

Index 239