Nevada Library Association Annual Conference 2012 Serving Youth at all Public Service Desks

Introduction ● Shana Harrington ● Young Person's Library Department Head ● Background

A Few Questions... ● Do you serve youth (up to 18) or their caregivers (parents/guardians) at your desk? ● Do you work at a desk that serves children and/or their caregivers? ● What are your biggest challenges? Take a few minutes to write your answer down

Let's break it down ● Approach services to youth by age level Ages 5 and Under School-aged: Kindergarten to 5 th grade Preteen or tweens: 6 th to 8 th grade Teens: 9 th grade to 12 th grade

Ages 5 and Under (and their caregivers) ● What are some of the most prevalent challenges? Who are you actually helping? Caregiver/child Noise Patience Policy Resources

School Aged Children ● What are the primary needs of this group? Entertainment School assignments Books at 'their' 'reading level' What on earth is AR, DRA, Lexile? How can I figure out what level a book is? The revised reference interview

6 th to 8 th graders (preteens/tweens) ● Similar to school-aged kids but add in puberty What ages do your collections serve? LVCCLD non-fiction serves up to 8 th grade Fiction, however, is in teen zone 6 th grade and up

Teens ● Major challenges Noise Patience Policy Resources i.e. 'help, what do I do now?!'

Anecdotes ● Kids/seniors sharing same interests ● Classic books still shared and enjoyed ● Current books shared and enjoyed

Resources