IRLS 695H – Library Services to Youth
Mondays through Fridays, July 8 to August 2
11:00 a.m. to 12:50 p.m.
Social Sciences 118

Instructor: Dr. Denice Adkins
Office:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail: adkinsde@missouri.edu
Office Hours: Monday, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. or by appointment any time

Course Description: We will explore the provision of library services to youth, birth through high school. Emphasis on child development, developing literacy, and programming techniques, as well as outreach services and youth services environments.

Goals and objectives:

• Students will understand the developmental stages of youth, from birth to high school.

  • Students will investigate stages of development and how library services and programs can affect child learning.

• Students will understand the importance of race, ethnicity, and culture in library services and programming for youth.

  • Students will incorporate diversity into their written work and projects.

• Students will become familiar with community analysis and outreach as tools to motivate library use.

  • Students will analyze the needs of youth in school or public libraries.

  • Students will discuss outreach to the child community to let their youth patrons know what is available in the school or public library.

• Students will understand the purpose of and tools for youth collection development.

  • Students will become familiar with a variety of retrospective aids and reviewing tools oriented toward youth and youth services librarians.

• Students will become familiar with a variety of programming techniques, and will be comfortable using those techniques in practice.

  • Students will perform at least one program before an audience of their peers, and evaluate the programs presented by their peers.

Course Requirements:

1. Attendance. Regular attendance is crucial to class performance. If you must be absent or late, please advise the instructor as soon as possible. More than two absences may lower your grade

2. Respect for Others. Be respectful and courteous to your classmates and guests in the classroom. Leave swearing and vulgarity at home. There will be some opportunity for group work and evaluation of others’ work. Be nice.

3. Readings. Please do any assigned readings before you come to class, so that we may have a coherent discussion of those readings in class.

4. Assignments. Submit assignments on or before the dates they are due. Late assignments will be penalized. Unacceptable assignments may be returned, marked “Redo for Credit.”

5. Format for Written Work. Please turn in all written assignments in a font size of 12 points or larger, and double spaced.

6. Graduate-Quality Writing. Grammar and spelling are important factors of graduate quality writing. Turning in a paper with three or more egregious grammatical or spelling errors is unacceptable, and will lower your grade.

Academic Integrity

Academic honesty is fundamental to the activities and principles of a university. All members of the academic community must be confident that each person's work has been responsibly and honorably acquired, developed, and presented. Any effort to gain an advantage not given to all students is dishonest whether or not the effort is successful. The academic community regards academic dishonesty as an extremely serious matter, with serious consequences that range from probation to expulsion. When in doubt about plagiarism, paraphrasing, quoting, or collaboration, consult the course instructor.

In my classes, plagiarism or cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. If you turn in a paper or assignment that has been plagiarized from another source or sources, you will receive a failing grade on that assignment.

Grading Policy

At the end of the summer session, your three grades will averaged. That average will be your final grade.

Special Needs

If you need accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please inform me immediately. Please see me privately after class, or at my office.

Assignments

1. Child Development and the Library

   Students will be assigned a "stage of development," and will compile a report on how public and/or school libraries can provide services to meet the developmental needs of children in that stage. This report should be completed and brought to class in paper format on July 17, 2002. During class time on July 17, students with the same stage of development will be paired or grouped and will evaluate each other's papers. Using the best information from both papers, the student pairs or groups will compose a final draft of their paper and turn in that final draft – with the two previous reports attached. Due July 22, 2002.

2. Children's Environments

   Children and young adults are all around us. Compare and contrast three (or more) places where children can be found. Some places you might consider examining are schools, playgrounds, parks, shopping malls, toy stores, bookstores, and of course, libraries. Look at these places from a developmental perspective. What skills are children learning in these places? Are these places designed for children's enjoyment, or are they training children to be little consumers? How do children behave in these different places? How do adults behave toward children in these places? This assignment should be in term paper format, not to exceed six (6) pages. Due on July 29, 2002.

3. Program Presentation and Group Evaluation

   Each student will give a present a program for children to their peers. This program should be designed to have at least one literacy experience and one activity. Other supplemental program techniques are at the discretion of the student doing the program. The student should submit to the instructor an overview of the program, including a list of activities, a theme for the program, and a description of the audience to which the student would present the program. Programs should be designed to last 20 to 60 minutes. After the program is completed, the other students in the class will submit a written evaluation of the program to the instructor. The evaluation should include a) what the presenter did well, b) what could have been improved, c) what learning styles the program emphasized, and d) what grade the evaluator would give to the presenter. The instructor will summarize responses for the program presenter, and include that information with the student's program grade. To be completed by August 2, 2002.

Class Schedule – Subject to Change:

July 8 – Class Introductions, Expectations

July 9 – Infant and Toddler Development

July 10 – Preschooler Development

July 11 – Elementary Schooler Development

July 12 – Programming Techniques and Ideas for Children

July 15 – Young Adult Development

July 16 – Programming Techniques and Ideas for Children

July 17 – Youth Services in the Public Library

July 18 – PUBLIC LIBRARY FIELD TRIP

July 19 – Program Presentation/Evaluation

July 22 – Community Analysis and Needs Assessment

Due today: Child Development Paper

July 23 – Learning Styles in the Library

July 24 – Collection Development for Children and Young Adults

July 25 – Outreach Services to Children and Children's Agencies

July 26 – Program Presentation/Evaluation

July 29 – Reference Services for Children and Young Adults

Due today: Children's Environments Paper

July 30 – Youth Services in the School Library

July 31 – Spaces for Children and Young Adults

August 1 – Program Presentation/Evaluation

August 2 – Program Presentation/Evaluation