Libraries

for Children
and Young
Adults
Section

Guidelines
for Childrens
Libraries
Services
* library services for children - more important than ever
to children and their families all over the world *
Preface

T
he global community and the
demands of the information age
have re-shaped librarianship
and the use of technologies to
acknowledge and enhance the
economic, cultural and communication
revolution in todays world.
The Guidelines in an outline format,
were written by the Standing
Committee members of the Libraries
for Children and Young Adults Section
as an implementation tool for libraries
of all sizes and economic levels.
These Guidelines complement IFLAs
publications; The IFLA/UNESCO
Public Library Manifesto; The Public
Library Service: IFLA/UNESCO
Guidelines for Development; and
Guidelines for Library Services for
Young Adults.
Introduction

L
ibrary services for children
have never been as important
for children and their families
all over the world, as they are
today. Access to the knowledge
and the multicultural riches of the
world, as well as lifelong learning
and literacy skills have become
the priority of our society. A quality
childrens library equips children
with lifelong learning and literacy
skills, enabling them to participate
and contribute to the community.
It should constantly respond to the
increasing changes in the society
and meet the information, cultural
and entertainment needs of all
children. Every child should be
familiar and comfortable with the
local library and possess the skills
to find their way around libraries in
general.

1
 Purpose

T
he purpose of the guidelines
is to help public libraries in
various countries throughout
the world to implement high quality
childrens services.

Audience

T
he audience for the guidelines
is practising librarians,
library administrators and
decision-makers, students and
instructors in library and information
science training programs.

2
Section One
Mission

B
y providing a wide range
of materials and activities,
public libraries provide an
opportunity for children to experience
the enjoyment of reading and the
excitement of discovering knowledge
and works of the imagination. Children
and their parents should be taught
how to make the best use of a library
and how to develop skills in the use of
printed and electronic media.
Public libraries have a special
responsibility to support the process
of learning to read, and to promote
books and other media for children.
The library must provide special
events for children, such as storytelling
and activities related to the librarys
services and resources.

3
 Children should be encouraged to
use the library from an early age,
as this will make them more likely to
remain users in future years.
In multilingual countries, books and
audio-visual materials for children
should be available in their mother
tongue.
(The Public Library Service IFLA / UNESCO
Guidelines for development, 2001)

4
Section Two
Meeting childrens needs

T
he United Nations Convention on The
Rights of the Child stresses the right
of every child to the development of
his or her full potential, the right to free and
open access to information, materials and
programs, under equal conditions for all,
irrespective of:
age
race
sex
religious, national and cultural
background
language
social status or
personal skills and abilities.

5
 Growing up is a local community
activity, not a global activity for
children, but one affected by global
issues.

Target groups

T
arget groups welcomed by
the childrens library, either
individually or in groups,
include:
babies and toddlers
pre-school children
school children up to 13
special needs groups
parents and other family members
caregivers
other adults working with children,
books and media.

6
Goals
To facilitate the right of every child to
- information
- functional, visual, digital and media
literacy
- cultural development
- reader development
- lifelong learning
- creative programs in leisure time
To provide children with open access to
all resources and media
To provide various activities for children,
parents and caregivers
To facilitate families entry into the
community
To empower children and to advocate for
their freedom and safety
To encourage children to become
confident and competent people
To strive for a peaceful world.
7
 Funding

C
hildren are a worthwhile investment.
Childrens libraries need a budget
to maintain and improve the quality
of materials and services offered to the
public.
Standard budgets can be supplemented
with outside sources of funding, such as:
government grants (for special programs
and new initiatives)
cultural organisations (for music, dance,
drama, arts, historical and ethnic
presentations)
publishers (for visits by authors or
illustrators and for other give-aways)
sponsorship (local businesses and
volunteer organisations to support
specific events)
non-governmental agencies
matching funds.

8
Materials

C
hildrens libraries should include a
variety of developmentally appropriate
materials in all formats, including
printed materials (books, periodicals,
comics, brochures), media (CDs, DVDs,
cassettes), toys, learning games,
computers, software and connectivity.

Selection criteria

B
uilding collections and services,
librarians should choose materials
which are:
high quality
age appropriate
current and accurate
a reflection of a variety of values and
opinions
a reflection of local community culture
an introduction to the global community.

9
 Space

C
hildren of all ages should find the
library an open, inviting, attractive,
challenging and non-threatening
place to visit.
Ideally, a childrens service needs its
own library area, which must be easily
recognisable (e.g. special furnishings,
decorations and colours) and distinct from
other parts of the library.
Libraries offer a public space where
children can meet each other or can meet
others in cyber-space.

Services

C
hildrens services should be taken as
important and treated equally with
those for adults.

10
Childrens libraries should meet the
information, cultural and entertainment
needs of the communitys children by:
lending a variety of materials
offering information and reference
services
helping children select materials
involving children in the selection of
materials and development of library
services
offering training in library skills and
information literacy
doing motivating activities (reading
promotion)
offering creative programming and
storytelling
educating parents and caregivers
providing reference and training for
caregivers, pre-school teachers, school
teachers and librarians
co-operating with and supporting
community organisations and institutions.

11
 Networking

A
network with other organisations and
institutions in the local community is
important and beneficial.
Investigating the information and cultural
needs of the community and trying to
match those needs with library resources
insures that local institutions do not
compete but co-operate to the benefit of
children.
Schools are important partners. The
school library provides support for the
educational process and the childrens
library deals with self-education and
leisure reading.
Healthcare centres, day-care centres,
kindergartens and other caregiving
places are institutions which are
necessary and welcome partners,
especially in reading promotion activities
for children, parents and professionals.

12
Publicity

A
positive, public profile for childrens
libraries is most important as
competition for a childs time and
attention grows.
Reading and literacy are necessary skills
in order to communicate and their value
must be constantly reinforced.

Human resources

E
ffective and professionally run
childrens libraries require trained and
committed childrens librarians.
Desired skills include:
enthusiasm
strong communication, interpersonal,
team working and problem-solving skills
the ability to network and co-operate

13
 the ability to initiate, be flexible and be
open to change
the ability to analyse user needs, plan,
manage and evaluate services and
programs
an eagerness to learn new skills and
develop professionally.
Childrens librarians also need a
knowledge and understanding of:
child psychology and development
the theories of reading development and
the promotion
artistic and cultural opportunities
literature for children in books and
related media.

14
Management and
evaluation

I
t is important that those who
manage childrens services
participate in the planning process
for the library as a whole, to insure
an awareness and support for
childrens services in the overall
goals and long term plans of the
library.
Reliable performance information is
a necessary tool for evaluation and
improvement
collect statistics related to
resources, staff, services,
circulation, activities, etc., to
provide data for planning, showing
accountability and making informed
management decisions
measure staff performance based
on standardised competencies.
15
 Section three
Seeking your contribution!
The Standing Committee of the Libraries
for Children and Young Adults Section
wants your assistance.
Please, join the Section and send your
best practices examples to be included
on the Sections part of IFLAs web
page.
Please send information to the
Committee Chair or Information
Co-ordinator for editing and inclusion.

16
Further information

T
his brochure is produced by the IFLA
Libraries for Children and Young Adults
Section and jointly funded with Medvescak
Public Library, Zagreb, Croatia (December 2003).

If you are interested in the work of the Section

IFLA
For further information and more details,
please consult the Section on the IFLANET
(www.ifla.org). A paper version of the full
guidelines text may be ordered from the
Information co-ordinator.

The Guidelines are based on the draft text

The drawings used in the Guidelines were taken from the

P.O. Box 95312