March 18, 2024: Youth Librarianship - Things to Know, (The Interview)

Interview with Renee Kirchner

March 18, 2024

Monday 9am-2pm

My field of study is Youth Librarianship and I am conducting my Practicum in the  Lewisville Public Library’s youth department under the supervision of Renee Kirchner, Youth Services Supervisor.  Renee and I have discussed many aspects of both general librarianship and youth librarianship.  She has been a wonderful resource for interviewing tips, skills to strengthen, and practical organization for daily tasks youth librarians face.  While all librarians need to be familiar with their collections and the needs of their patrons, youth librarians have an added layer of navigational steps necessary to assist the youth patrons.  Youth librarians must be able to conduct reader advisory with very young patrons who may or may not be able to fully express what they need.  Advisory may or may not be welcome depending on parental involvement and preferences.  Youth librarians must often dig deep to best serve the patron in need (the minor child) while working within the framework of parental restrictions.  This level of finesse often requires quite detailed knowledge of their collection and a degree of tact that those in adult services can find magical!  Key survival points for youth librarians are:  

• Plan to read a lot! Reader Advisory for everything from picture and chapter books to YA and graphic novels may be parsed for characters, plot, triggers, or appropriateness according to differing developmental levels as well as belief systems.
• Have a personal reader advisory booklist (Goodreads is a good site for this) to make note of any recommendations you can make.
• Have a story time prepared as a “just in case you are called upon” and have to fill in for a staff member.
• Keep a list of stock phrases for various situations that may be difficult to answer when first presented such as book challenges and decisions of appropriateness.  For example, “I don’t let my child read comics because that isn’t real literature.”  “Graphic novels often better serve children in terms of reading comprehension, predictive thinking, and degree of interest.  All reading is good reading.”

As many of these concepts and tips are directly related to my past career as a preschool teacher, I focused my questions on youth librarianship as a career and the public library as an industry.  

Questions:  

1.  What developing trends have you seen in the information services field generally, and  youth services specifically?
2.  Do you feel the work/life balance found in library services is sustainable, i.e. multiple jobs are not needed to make ends meet, expected work commitments do not compromise personal life, etc?
3. Do you feel that job mobility, both up the ladder as well as laterally, are well supported in most libraries?
4.  What skills do you feel a future librarian will need?
5.  Changing technology has a large impact on library services; what, if any, impacts do you see AI having on libraries?
6. What change in structure or function would you like to see in the library’s future?  
7.  Is there any topic or advice that we have not touched on that you would recommend I learn more about or develop further skills in?

Library trends have skewed toward efficiency, often at the cost of service and practicality.  For instance, some libraries utilize a One Desk system for patron services.  All account services, youth, teen, and adult collection questions, reservations, research questions, Ask A Librarian are manned by 2 staff members at a single desk service point.  Practically speaking, this is extremely inefficient!  Not every librarian is trained in account services, or in a collection different from their own, account services may not know how to answer collection or research questions, and patron wait times tend to increase while effective answers are decreased.  This is even more apparent with roving librarians who approach patrons with an iPad in hand to see if they need help.  Most patrons find this irritating in practice.  The same staffing issues arise when outreach requirement are decided upon.  Going out into the community means there are fewer librarians actually in the library.  This becomes a huge stress point with smaller libraries.  Librarians advocate for a high “why factor”.  Does the program have a goal, a plan, a target, a measurable outcome, and does it support or strengthen the mission statement?  However, as public libraries use tax money to implement these new approaches, it becomes very difficult to undo a program that is not performing as expected.  

Despite these inefficient efficiencies and the problems they can cause, the actual job of a librarian can be very rewarding.  While most public librarians are not becoming rich (or even wealthy), they are compensated to a degree that does not require multiple jobs to support a family (although 2 incomes will most likely be required).  Librarians are typically exempt employees that work 1 night and weekend shift per month.  Flex Time keeps staff from working overtime for free.  However, as a city employee, compensation is not always on an upward trajectory and can stall during periods of budgetary downturns.  In spite of these compensatory complications, most librarians find the job a good fit and find lateral or upward movement to be possible.  It does need to be pointed out that there are not many steps to move up the employment hierarchy in a public library.  Librarians may become directors or move to different departments but in reality, most librarians do not want to become supervisors much less directors!  

Future predictions for librarians can be a bit murky.  Renee has noticed in her more than 15 years as a public librarian that it is better to be a jack of all trades and not a specialist.  This is especially true of technology- learn it all as best as you can.  Also, keep abreast of changing technology trends.  AI is having quite a moment now but still has limited and questionable value to offer the library.  Most libraries are using AI to generate reader advisory or program ideas.  However, the quality of these ideas and the applicability to the mission of the library or the needs of the patrons are still not at the level of quality a librarian can produce.  Knowing when to phase out or utilize one technology or program in favor of another is more art than science but is very important in terms of value to the patron.  Knowing when to phase out VHS in favor of DVD can better serve patrons and positively impact the budget.  Do the classes teaching patrons how to work their multiple digital reading devices still need to exist?  A larger elderly population may be better served by an increase in tax filing assistance.  More non-English speakers may mean more conversational English get togethers!  Thinking in terms of what do our patrons need now rather than “but we have always done it this way" better serves the community and keeps the library vibrant and well funded.

The aspirational librarian of the future will need to be a connector; visions to resources.  Networking skills become incredibly important when attempting to get things done!  For example, negotiating contracts relies heavily on the city’s legal department.  Looking to add a qualified STEM employee is easier fin HR is guiding the applicant stream.  Want to get the go ahead for a project?  Knowing the library board members will facilitate that.  And there will always be projects the future librarian will want to enact.  Renee has a wish list that includes a larger program space within the building, creating a better green space around the library, adding outdoor programs, and creating a dedicated marketing department.  

Interviewing Renee solidified my understanding of the actual job of a librarian.  It has always been apparent that a youth librarian will need to be fluent in the matter of book challenges, reader advisory, event planning, story times and patron engagement.  However, networking among city departments, targeted project planning, negotiating contracts, budgeting, conflicting aspects of community outreach, and the finer details of how to best accomplish the librarian’s goals are ancillary skills necessary for success.  For the librarian, the leap from idea to implementation is a matter of what you know, who you know, and how well you can generate enthusiasm throughout the web of the public library, its supporters, and patrons.