Overview

by Erin Radway

Reference services for children contain many of the same components as those for adults; however special considerations must be applied in order to make the experience successful.  

First, librarians must be aware that "children progress through developmental stages as they mature" (Bopp & Smith, 2011, p. 357).  Depending on where kids are at in their development will dictate the interaction between the child and the librarian.  For example, if a first grader came to the librarian asking for a book on zebras, it would be most appropriate for the librarian to physically show the child where the book is in the library, as they are not yet developmentally ready to understand the organization and categories in the library.  However, if a fifth grader approached the librarian it would be developmentally appropriate to demonstrate how to use the library catalog to find the book on zebras (Bishop & Salveggi, 2001).  Then, with guided practice children should be able to locate the book in the library using the call number and knowing the basic sections of the library.

Secondly, children's librarians must possess both the cognitive and affective skills of librarianship in order to be successful when working with children.  Children's librarians must have the cognitive skills of librarianship in order to execute the child's needs.  However, it can be argued that the librarian's affective skills are even more important in order to make the library experience pleasurable for the child.  Without the affective skills of a librarian knowing and understanding the needs of the individual child, the cognitive skills would be wasted (Association for Library Service to Children, 2001).

Finally, in general reference queries by children are often imposed by other adults (Bopp & Smith, 2011, p. 357).  Teachers' assignments require students to locate information on a particular topic or to complete a specific assignment.  These inquiries are not intrinsically developed creating a disconnect in what is being asked and what may actually be needed to complete the assignment.  If children's librarians develop reference interview skills in order to get to the true information need, the reference experience will be more successful (Bishop & Salveggi, 2001).  One way to make the reference interview even better is to work in conjunction with the teachers to know the specific requirements for the assignment.  Then when children come to the library requesting information the librarian has some background information and can better assist the child's need. According to Bishop & Salveggi (2001), another hindrance when dealing with imposed inquiries is the three-party transaction.  A three-party transaction involves the child, an accompanying adult, and the children’s reference librarian.  At times an adult can complicate the reference interview further if he or she does not fully understand the homework assignment.  Thus further showing that any communication children’s librarians can do with teachers is paramount.

The goal of this blog is to provide some excellent online resources for librarians and teachers to use when working with young people. We focus on specific criteria for evaluating children's material and techniques for conducting reference interviews with children.  We highlight examples of reliable website databases for children.  We also give attention to the online resources available concerning children with special needs (and parents of children with special needs).  We also feature some readers’ advisory resources available to children.  



Bishop, K., & Salveggi, A. (2001). Responding to developmental stages in reference service to children. Public Libraries 40(6), 354-358.

Bopp, R. & Smith, L.C. (2011). Reference and Information Services: An Introduction(4th ed.) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited. 357-365.

Association for Library Service to Children. (2001). Competencies for librarians serving children in public libraries. Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 14(2), 21-24.