Come Together

School and public librarians need to join forces for kids' sake

By Jami Jones -- School Library Journal, 3/1/2004

The good news is that many public libraries are now overflowing with teens. The bad news is that most teens still don't visit libraries, and that's a shame. Teens would use libraries if they clearly understood their value. But for years, young adults have been mostly ignored by librarians.

Until our attitudes change, teens won't be flocking to libraries anytime soon. When it comes to teen services, our underlying premise is just plain flawed. We presume that young people want the same types of services, programs, and resources that we librarians find so appealing. So we design services based on our perceptions of what we think teens need. And we expect them to rush in. But, of course, that's just not happening. One librarian summed it up this way: libraries aren't even on most teens' radar screens.

The solution is to initiate a major paradigm shift, one in which school and public librarians combine their knowledge, experiences, and resources. This makes sense because both public and school librarians have something valuable to offer: school librarians are more in sync with students' academic needs than public librarians, and public librarians often have more resources at their disposal and more leeway to launch creative programs.

A public librarian recently told me of her disappointment over a poorly attended poetry slam, even though the event had been well publicized in her library. When I was a public librarian, I made the same mistake, thinking that a poster displayed in our vestibule was all we needed to pack kids in. Now that I'm a school librarian, I know how easily this marketing misstep could have been corrected. One way is to place an announcement in the local middle school or high school student newspaper. Another option is to ask school librarians to spread the word about an upcoming event. A school librarian is likely to know a lot of teens who would attend the event if they were assured of its "phat" factor by an adult whom they trusted. Another easy way to attract kids is to provide a school librarian with posters and information about your library's teen programs and services. My local public library loaned me a portable message board for precisely that purpose.

In King County, WA, Chandler, AZ, and Collier County, FL, cooperative efforts between school and public librarians are alive and well. "It's all about relationships," explains JoAnn VanderKooi, coordinator of youth services at the King County Library System (KCLS). As VanderKooi sees it, personal connections between school librarians and their public counterparts are the foundation for effective teen services. That's why her library has created the position of education coordinator, to ensure that the lines of communication remain open between KCLS and the more than 400 public and private schools it serves.

At the Chandler Public Library (CPL), which shares two spaces with the town's high school, "everybody serves teens," says Mary Johns, CPL's acting manager, referring to her versatile staff. "We don't have librarians who aren't teen librarians too." Johns says it makes perfect sense for the high school and public library to share facilities since they both serve the same clientele. "Where do kids go for help after school?" she asks. "They've been coming to us for years." Both of the joint facilities—a 1,500-square-foot school library and a free-standing building on the school's campus—feature a certified library media specialist at the reference desk to answers students' questions.

The Collier County Public Library (CCPL) began reaching out to local teens nine years ago. At first, CCPL sponsored book clubs at two local high schools, but later broadened its outreach, providing kids with a place to showcase their musical and acting talents. "The public library has been great because they have presented students with opportunities to perform," says drama teacher Chris Johnston. "The kids are so excited that the public library would go out of its way for them." When school officials were reluctant to address students' mental health concerns, the public library (with input from school librarians) sponsored a lecture series on topics such as resiliency, stress, and depression.

All is not gloom and doom. School and public librarians are learning how to work together effectively. Now if only that was the norm....