The Future of Youth Public Librarian Education Project: Initial Findings

Abstract

Despite evidence suggesting that current LIS curricula might be inadequate to prepare students for the realities of today's public library youth services work, little research has addressed potential changes to the LIS curricula in this area. This paper reports findings from the second phase of an IMLS-funded project exploring how LIS programs might better prepare students to work in public libraries with youth. Through a combination of surveys, informal virtual meet-ups, and focus groups, we collected data addressing two primary research questions: What is the job of a public youth services librarian today, and how has that job changed in recent years? What do practitioners, library administrators, LIS faculty, and other youth services providers perceive as the gaps in current LIS graduate curricula for pre-service youth services librarians? Findings indicate significant changes to the nature of public library youth services work in recent years, as well as misalignment between traditional LIS curriculum and the actual knowledge and skills required to succeed in this work.