In the coming weeks and months, much of my time will be consumed with developing actions and plans related to what we do for teens out of school. One would think that public libraries would have long ago focused on this problem and devised a systematic solution, but the lack of institutional agility of large urban systems and the demands place upon them prevent a broad focus from taking place and instead, staff at each site has been left to put out fires as best they can.
With the urban public libraries giving more attention to solving the problem of service after school, they begin to acknowledge several key issues that have gone virtually un-addressed until now:
1. Urban Public Libraries are busy after-school centers, but large urban libraries cannot keep up with the demand for services because there simply isn’t enough money allocated by some cities to allow programs to exist every day. Those organizations must make a clear effort to hire and train staff to be ready to serve their after-school population. They also must present cities like New York with data that demonstrates that public libraries are being used as bridges to city services, as free safe-havens for children with no other after school activities as well as for information about after-school activities.
2. Those who gain the most benefit from pubic library services are often reviled by the library staff: the homeless, the indigent, the mentally ill, the unemployed, and youth. Staff of urban public libraries must be suited to work with these groups through the hiring process, training, and organizational initiatives.
3. Public Libraries need to become smarter marketers of their services. They need to focus on what the Library is used for and strengthen those services in response, then highlight those services in internal communications and in publicity. Anyone is free to debate what the Library should become or what it has traditionally been, but in the end, we are responsible for meeting the demands put on us most by the public.
4. When public libraries create clear mission statements that accept and describe their primary role in a given community, the community will respond with approval. We just need to know how to recognize that approval when it comes and to build upon it.
With the urban public libraries giving more attention to solving the problem of service after school, they begin to acknowledge several key issues that have gone virtually un-addressed until now:
1. Urban Public Libraries are busy after-school centers, but large urban libraries cannot keep up with the demand for services because there simply isn’t enough money allocated by some cities to allow programs to exist every day. Those organizations must make a clear effort to hire and train staff to be ready to serve their after-school population. They also must present cities like New York with data that demonstrates that public libraries are being used as bridges to city services, as free safe-havens for children with no other after school activities as well as for information about after-school activities.
2. Those who gain the most benefit from pubic library services are often reviled by the library staff: the homeless, the indigent, the mentally ill, the unemployed, and youth. Staff of urban public libraries must be suited to work with these groups through the hiring process, training, and organizational initiatives.
3. Public Libraries need to become smarter marketers of their services. They need to focus on what the Library is used for and strengthen those services in response, then highlight those services in internal communications and in publicity. Anyone is free to debate what the Library should become or what it has traditionally been, but in the end, we are responsible for meeting the demands put on us most by the public.
4. When public libraries create clear mission statements that accept and describe their primary role in a given community, the community will respond with approval. We just need to know how to recognize that approval when it comes and to build upon it.
posted by Nick at 1:50 PM
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