Children and youth learn in countless ways, anywhere, anytime. And one of the most powerful levers of children's learning--from the early childhood years through adolescence--is families. For families, libraries provide the books, media, and activities that help them open doors for children's literacy and lifelong learning. Libraries are poised to…

Children's literature plays an essential role in the literacy development of children. This department column focuses on the teaching and use of children's literature and provides educators with information about a wide range of books across multiple genres that are representative of the diverse world in which we live. A strong emphasis is placed…

Each night, around 20,000 people--both adults and children--make the streets of Dhaka (the capital city of Bangladesh) their home. Living amongst the noise, rubbish, and traffic, thousands of families walk down the streets of Dhaka, looking for a safe place to rest for just a few hours each night. Trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, the…

Until last year, PS 32 in Brooklyn, New York, had no working library for children. The 2009 graduating class of fifth graders had gone through their entire elementary school experience without checking out a book or doing research in a well-equipped school library. The library collection was limited. The shelves were half-empty. Books were shelved…

As high school enrollment continues to rise, the need for effective librarianship serving young adults is greater than ever before. "Young Adults Deserve the Best: Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth," developed by Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), is a document outlining areas of focus for providing quality library service…

In the past three years, the Union County Carnegie Library (UCCL) in South Carolina has "been transformed." The library board, selected by the county supervisors, knew something had to be done. In October 2005, the board hired Nancy E. Rosenwald as UCCL director. Longing to get back to South Carolina from western Connecticut, Rosenwald…

This article describes the Librarianship Upgrades for Children and Youth Services (LUCY), a multifaceted multicultural continuing education program for librarians developed by the Library and Information Science Program at Old Dominion University. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) funds LUCY through the Laura Bush 21st century…

The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) began as a research project funded primarily by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and Microsoft Research and creates a digital library of outstanding children's books from all over the world (http://www. childrenslibrary.org). The project…

The 2012 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 48th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The "Digest" has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field…

This collection of papers provides an overview of the status of children's services in public libraries and identifies areas which need to be strengthened. A review of the institute program and an examination of the goals of children's services are followed by 16 papers focusing on the child, the children's librarian, services, facilities,…

These articles provide testimony in support of youth services which have been and continue to be a vital part of public library service in Illinois. Organized around the symbol of a mighty oak tree, the articles are divided into three sections: (1) The Trunk--based on strong roots with the past, standards, goals, and objectives are formulated; (2)…

At the University of Maryland, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from information studies, computer science, education, art, and psychology worked with seven children (ages seven to eleven) to design a new digital library for children. This partnership led to new approaches for collection development, cataloging (metadata standards), and…

There's no doubt about it: magazines can be a nuisance. They're easy to rip off, flimsy, and costly. The dogeared, thumb-smudged pages, missing subscription cards, and already-solved crossword puzzles and mazes (completed confidently in ink!) are sure signs that kids find magazines irresistible. Young children and teens love to flip casually…

The five papers in this collection were presented to a group of Directors and Coordinators of Children's Work representing large, medium, and county public libraries, as well as representatives from state libraries and library schools, who attended the President's Preconference. Topics presented include (1) a review of the development of…

This 25-article issue presents overview of reference services for childern and young adults, including public and school libraries, information needs, reference interviews, children's librarians, library instruction, library cooperation, production of information resources, material selection, and vertical files. References are included. (Haworth…