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The Power of Children's Services With Michael Sullivan
Today we were thrilled to welcome Michael Sullivan, who has more than fifteen years experience as a Children’s Librarian and Library Director, storyteller, chess teacher, and author of the book Connecting Boys With Books ( ALA , 2003) and The Fundamentals of Children’s Services ( ALA , 2005).
Links from the session are at:
http://del.icio.us/metrowestmrls/powerofchildrensservices
For links from all of Michael's sessions, please visit:
http://del.icio.us/metrowestmrls/mikesullivan
For photos, please visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/metrowest/sets/72157600134665770/
- Children's Services Drive Public Libraries
- Children's Services are undervalued and undersupported
- Children's Service specialists need to be doing things other than direct services to children
Directors don't understand you, but you don't understand them. They speak different languages, because "directors are from Jupiter and Children's Librarians are from Pluto."
"Your job isn't to serve children well, it is to see that children are well-served."
We are passionate about what we do, and get paid less for it! Administrators are short on everything: time, money, staff, respect, books, space, political clout... "I don't have enough..."
Two hours of prep for one hour of presentation is not terrible efficient. Solutions: Do fewer programs, OR share presentations.
Children under 18 make up 26% of the population (11% are teen/15% youth)
On average, 60% of your walk in traffic is under 18 years old
Children's materials make up 35-50% of circulation (Northeast is high), and then run out of things to read
We need to take advantage of the people who come in with children - they are community minded, children oriented and vocal!
Ask 10 of your best customers about there best library memory - 90% of them will cite using the library as a child
Convince a 6 year old to love libraries, and you'll have their support for the next 70 years.
Be the good PR ahead of time
Show off the library to real estate agents, public safety and health officers
Where do kids go after school? To the library!
Between 2:30-5 on a weekday, there is a the highest likelihood of experimentation with drugs, alcohol, and sex, higher arrest rates and victims of crime
Libraries are community focal points, although we tried to deny it in the 70's. A great resource about the growing community trend to do things alone is Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam
A big part of library PR is asking people what they think!
Get a digital camera for your library and take pictures every day and send them to the press
Concerned about permissions? Create a form.
"Libraries are not safe places" is not a good thing to promote; instead, say "libraries are not completely safe places" or "libraries are public places"
Put a PR spin on your zelaousness
There is more violence in the home than on the street these days, and aggressive media in the home is a huge problem - it's safer for kids to be at the library after school than at home
BUDGET:
Dollars matter. Play a role in the budget process
Propose a percentage based book budget
52 million children attend programs in libraries every year; compare to adults - it's fairly common for the cost of adult programming to be about $10 per person. What could you do with $10 per head in storytime?
The librarian shortage: 80% of MLS librarians in america will be 65 or older by 2020; 60% will retire between 2005-2019
2005: 30% of grads when into public library, only 10% went into children's services. Average beginning survey for an MLS grad in 1997: $30,270
Children's librarians make $.92 on the dollar in 1997; $.916 on the dollar in 2005
Directors need to recruit children's librarians, pay children's librarians, train children's librarians... or learn how to do fingerplays!
Do you get paid less because you work with kids, or because it's women's work?
POLICIES
Know your policies, have a written policy, and be a presence at the table when there are written.
Policies that eliminate communication via the Internet is ageist.
STATS
Need to provide outcomes beyond anecdotal evidence
Don't forget that every book you move, reshelve or straighten out is a circ!
If it can't be measured, it never happened! We only report when people are mad at us
FSRC - Federal Collection of Economic Statistics
Wal*Mart has greeters because people WANT greeters. Use them to do an exit interview. What is your fill rate? What were you looking for? Did you find it? How was the experience?
Children's books are MORE expensive than adult books, but go out MORE, creating a cheaper cost per circ
Children's materials have a higher circulation rate. National average is just under 2
About 10% of the collection goes out each year.
Don't forget about your own professional development
We have a profession that talks about the power of reading to change lives ... and we don't do our professional reading.
NOTE: Metrowest welcomes members to write newsletter articles (May 15 deadline!) and present at workshops (May 15 is the deadline for July & August workshops, July 15 is the deadline for September workshops, etc.)