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Youth Services Librarian in a Public Library

Practice Settings and Primary Responsibilities
Youth Services Librarians in Public Libraries are employed in Children’s and Young Adults Services Divisions in public libraries throughout the country providing a wide variety of activities including:

Reference Services; Collection Development for Children’s and Young Adult Materials; Bibliographic Instruction; Literacy Promotion; Reader Advisory Services; Story Hours; Community Outreach; Technology Training; School Collaboration; Programming for Children and Teens; Summer Reading Programs; Book Discussion Groups

Required Core Courses                 12 credits
The following four core courses must be completed within the first six courses taken.

Course Number        Course Title
601                  Information Use
650                  Information Access
670                  Information Structure
690                  Information Technology

Additional Required Course         3 credits
635                  Management and Administration for the Information Professional

Recommended Information Studies Electives 0 – 12 credits
Students should consult with their advisors to select electives that best support individual intellectual interests and career goals. The electives listed here are not meant to represent the complete listing of all relevant courses that a student may take within Information Studies, at other units on campus, or as part of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area. In addition, the Web-based Information Science Education (WISE) Consortium may offer College-approved courses that are relevant. The URL is http://www.wiseeducation.org/home_p-home.aspx, user name: md-student, password: test.


Course Number        Course Title
645                  Literature for Children
646                  Literature for Young Adults
647                  Children’s Services in Public Libraries
707                  Field Study in Library Service
724                  Public Library Seminar
745                  Storytelling

Additional Electives            9 – 21 credits


Course Number        Course Title
621                  Library Service to the Disadvantaged
625                  Information Policy
709                  Independent Study
713                  Planning and Evaluating Library Services
723                  Libraries and Information Services in the Social Process
725                  Library Services for Client Groups with Disabilities
735                  Legal Issues in Managing Information
736                  Designing Information Services and Products
748                  Advanced Seminar in Children’s Literature
750                  Information Access in Electronic Environments
751, 752,        Information Access in the Humanities, Arts,
753, 756, etc.            Social Sciences, Science and Technology, etc.
783                  Seminar in Technical Services

Professional Associations
American Library Association
Association for Library Service to Children
Public Library Association
Young Adult Library Services Association
Regional:
Maryland Library Association
Virginia Library Association
And other state and regional library associations

Scholarships/Interest Free Loans

General Scholarships:
ALA General Scholarships:
Marshall Cavendish Scholarship
David H. Clift Scholarship
Christopher Hoy/ERT Scholarship

Diversity Scholarships:
ALA Spectrum Scholarship
Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) Century Scholarship

Scholarships in Children’s and Youth Services Librarianship:
ALA Scholarship for Library Youth Services
Association for Library Service to Children  (ALSC) Scholarships:
The Bound to Stay Bound Books Scholarship
The Frederic G. Melcher Scholarship
Noyes Library Association Scholarship (Information Studies)

Key Geographic Areas for Employment
Youth Services Librarians in Public Libraries are needed throughout all regions of the U.S.

Specialized Placement Services:
Maryland Library Association Jobline
Virginia Library Association Jobline
American Libraries, the Magazine of the American Library Association, “Career Leads”

College of Information Studies, University of Maryland, Room 4105 Hornbake Bldg, South Wing, College Park, MD 20742 | (301) 405.2038