ALSC Releases white paper: 'Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth'

CHICAGO – The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) announces the release of a new white paper, “Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth.” This paper was written for ALSC by Cen Campbell, Claudia Haines, Amy Koester, and Dorothy Stoltz and adopted by the ALSC Board of Directors on March 11, 2015.

The paper explores the role of children’s librarians as mentors of digital media and calls on youth service librarians to support families in their intentional, appropriate and positive use of media.

“We know families are using digital media at a growing rate and it is our responsibility as youth service librarians to assist and support these families as they make decisions that best fit their family needs,” said ALSC President Ellen Riordan.

ALSC’s next Community Forum, held at 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, will also serve as a virtual release party for this white paper. Members are invited to log on to learn more about the paper, discuss its implications on the field, and share experiences as media mentors in their own communities.

ALSC is committed to assisting members as they explore this media mentor role in their own communities. Therefore, ALSC is offering two past webinars free to members through July, 2015 and has made available a collection of examples of current media mentorship practice. ALSC has also invited Lisa Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative and the Learning Technologies Project at New America, to speak at Leadership & ALSC program at ALA’s Annual Conference to discuss the idea of media mentorship and implications on early childhood learning.

The white paper and additional resources are available on ALSC’s website.

About ALSC

ALSC, a division of the ALA, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC visit www.ala.org/alsc.