Presents tips from a project that made modest but significant improvements to the young adult areas and services of 11 rural libraries in the Pioneer Library System in upstate New York. Discusses floor plans, layout and location; furniture and fixtures; collections and displays; technology; and staff. Illustrates changes with before-and-after…

This book is a guide for librarians and media specialists who recognize the value of bilingual-bicultural education and are looking for ideas to develop library services for their Spanish-speaking patrons. Chapter one gives a brief history of Spanish-speaking people in the United States, as well as cultural characteristics, family role,…

This manual is intended as a guide and a resource for staff and volunteers in small public libraries in Alaska. It is for libraries managed by local residents that have not had training in operating and managing a library. Some of the chapters may be useful to other types of libraries, such as a small school library or a church library. The guide…

Describes the development of a toy library in Gosford (Australia). Discusses community support, state and local funding and expenditures, planning loan procedures, the catalog, presentation and storage, classification, the official opening, and staff support and community reaction. (AEF)

Discusses the development of children's reading rooms in public libraries throughout the United States. Early efforts to isolate juveniles from adult patrons are described, the gradual acknowledgement of the value and necessity of separate children's collections is explained, and efforts to encourage teachers to use these collections are…

Discusses the need for public libraries to improve their collections for and services to beginning readers. Suggests that public libraries should reconfigure their children's departments and budgets based on the three stages to reading fluency, of which level two is the learning to read years that includes beginning readers. (LRW)

Describes the development of children's services at the Champaign Public Library. Highlights include the first physically separate space for children; collaboration with students from the University of Illinois library school; and growth in the collection and in programs. (LRW)

Describes a project that modified the fill rate survey from "Output Measures for Public Libraries" to assess the library needs of middle school children. The resulting development of an up-to-date, graded nonfiction collection and its impact on library use by middle schoolers is discussed. The modified survey form is included. (five…

Anne Carroll Moore, who introduced children's services at the New York Public Library, a Newbery-winning author discusses libraries, collection development, book costs, the publishing industry, fear of change, oral and print tradition, writing for children, the impact and shortcomings of technology, books going out of print, and the need for…

Bethel (Connecticut) Public Library's first young adult librarian chronicles the experience, month-by-month, of building a collection, programs, and other services for teens where none had previously existed. A list of the top seven things to do when developing a new YA library department is included. (AEF)

Describes how three public library youth librarians used statistics to justify budget requests, change resource allocations, expand services, and show benefits of new services to the community. Examples are provided under the following headings: Show what's missing; Show what's gone wrong; Show what's going right; Show inequities; and Compare and…

Presents recommendations for developing sound baby collections that include selecting books that: have designs infants are attracted to, provide tactile experiences, incorporate rhymes, have rounded edges (board books), and can be cleaned (cloth books). Includes an alphabetical list of good books for babies, as well as books on planning a lapsit…

Studies show that the older a child gets the less likely he or she is to trust a librarian. To encourage pre-YAs (pre-young adults, 6th-8th graders) to use the library, librarians should consider four elements: client, librarian, library, and materials and services. Discusses these elements and suggests how to make the library more appealing to…

Designed to assist librarians with collection development, this work identifies, describes, and evaluates more than 800 significant bibliographies of children's and young adult materials. Emphasis is on print and nonprint works published from 1986 through 1996, with some earlier but still useful publications also covered. In addition, special…

Libraries need to reach out to teens and enhance their skills in serving the teenage population. Through the Louisiana Young Adult Services program, it is hoped that all staff working with young adults will be reached to accomplish the following: (1) promote a better understanding of the psychology of this age group; (2) increase skills in…