Next up in the librarian careers series is the children's librarian. I'll review a general job description, once again using the crowdsourced work being led by Crystal King and Kim Dority. In this case their description is primarily based on the listed requirements offered by WebJunction. Also, be sure to check out the Web Junction link for descriptions of related job titles if you're interested in reading up on a Head Children't Librarian position, for example. The nice thing about plotting out your education for this career is that a good LIS program will have children's librarian courses developed into a certification or concentration. As before, I'll add my notes in this color about MLIS courses and other training to gain each individual skill.

On to our Children's Librarian job description:

Essential Duties:

1. Coordinate children's service operations with other library services and functions. This fairly general duty can be represented through everything from knowledge of wider library issues (general 101-style library class) to evidence that you work well on a team (LIS classes almost always have a group work portion, so you'll have lots of experience here).
   

2. Develop programs and services to meet specific needs of children. A programming course should definitely be a required course as a part of any specialiation in children's librarianship.
   

3. Provide reference service to children and teachers. Your chosen LIS program should have a required reference course that will address this.
   

4. Provide reader's advisory service. Besides reference courses, look for a survey style class that covers children's literature. My program, for example, has a number of these covering different grade levels.
   

5. Assist in preparing the annual budget. As a required part of the standard MLIS, your school should expect you to take an administrative and management course.
   

6. Evaluate materials and services and assist in selection of materials for library acquisition. This is collection development and should be a required course within the children's librarian specialization.
   

7. Prepare and present library programs and supervise program presentation by subordinate staff. Another key class to take is a children's programming course. This should also be a required part of the curriculum if you are working on a specialized certificate.
   

8. Assist in drafting children's library service policy. Once again, this knowledge can be gained from a management/administravie course.
   

9. Represent library on children's services committees. Get involved in student and library organizations, such as the ALA or regional groups.
   

10. Serve as the authority on children's service. This comes through from a willingness to continue learning, and being involved in and aware of contemporary issues within the field. It could mean organizational involvement (again, ALA or other groups), or just reading up and staying abreast of children's service topics. Also, take an advanced seminar that covers contemporary topics in children's service.
    

Skills:

1. Knowledge of the principles and practices of public library functions. Your LIS program should have a required introductory course that covers these topics.
   
2. Knowledge of the needs and abilities of children and the available library materials and services. The children's literature survey is useful here, as is an Instructional Methods class as part of the children's librarian specialization.
   
3. Knowledge of the principles and practices of public administration as applied to a major library service. Once again, to prepare for any type of librarian position, be sure to take a management class. It's required for a good reason, even if you have prior management experience.
   

4. Excellent oral and written communications. You'll get lots of practice with this in all of your LIS coursework. If you want to go beyond this, look again to organizational involvement.
   

5. Administer the activities of a children's library service.

6. Supervise the work of others.

7. Develop short and long-term development and operations plans and programs for a children's library service.

8. Make decisions in an environment of limited resources and competing claims.

9. Establish and maintain effective working relationships with superiors, subordinates, associates, officials of other agencies and the general public. These last five skills all go directly back to an LIS management course. Beyond that, make sure that your MLIS degree includes a practicum or internship to add to these skills and gain practical experience. If you're able, consider volunteer work that allows you to further develop these skills.
   

Education

Obviously, the MLIS degree is the primary educational requirement. Keep in mind that this is a general job description, and experience requirements beyond the MLIS will vary. There are entry-level positions that don't require as much. Remember that practicums and volunteer work DO count here. It is also important to think about your work experiences outside of a library environment. Have you tutored or taught children, worked for an after-school or summer program, been a nanny? Do you have customer service skills from working retail? Be sure to emphasize this as you go through your job search, as it is all highly relevant.

1. Master's Degree in Library Science from an accredited college or university
2. Three years of progressively responsible library administration experience
3. One year experience in a supervisory or lead capacity in a children's library service
4. Equivalent combination of education and experience substituting on the basis of one year of experience for each year of education.

If you want to learn more, head over to the Association for Library Service to Children Division of the ALA and read through their thorough competencies list.

I hope this helps you prepare for your career as a children's librarian!

If you haven't started your LIS degree yet, you can start here: (function(){ var hsjs = document.createElement("script"); hsjs.type = "text/javascript"; hsjs.async = true; hsjs.src = "//cta-service.cms.hubspot.com/cta-service/loader.js?placement_guid=d4bec5c1-4dca-46a1-8fdc-3a5281de71f6"; (document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0]||document.getElementsByTagName("body")[0]).appendChild(hsjs); setTimeout(function() {document.getElementById("hs-cta-d4bec5c1-4dca-46a1-8fdc-3a5281de71f6").style.visibility="hidden"}, 1); setTimeout(function() {document.getElementById("hs-cta-d4bec5c1-4dca-46a1-8fdc-3a5281de71f6").style.visibility="visible"}, 2000); })();

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