Youth: an exchange of ideas for public libraries.

• Author: Macchion, Felicity
• Position: Yarra Plenty Regional Library - Organization overview

Discussed are the authors' experiences of libraries and youth during a job exchange with Columbus Library Service in Ohio USA. Programs for its youth clientele include job help centres, homework help centres, gaming events, volunteens and "Lock in' libraries. Discussed are the teen events and spaces implemented within Yarra Plenty Library and the ways in which the exchange helped identify the needs of young people within the Yarra Plenty community. Also visited were library services in Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Edited version of a paper presented at '12 to 24s @ your public library in Australia and New Zealand conference' Qld 11-12 June 2010.

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One of Australia's largest and most progressive library systems, Yarra Plenty Regional Library (YPRL) was founded in the mid 1960s, when the former city of Heidelberg agreed to provide library services to the former shire of Eltham. Later the former shire of Diamond Valley and the shire of Whittlesea joined in the regional group.

In 1995, following changes in local government boundaries, the new municipalities of Banyule, Nillumbik and Whittlesea continued their support for the regional library service and Yarra Plenty was one of the first regions incorporated under Section 196 of the Victorian Local Government Act 1989.

There are eight branch libraries located at Greensborough, Eltham, Ivanhoe, Lalor, Mill Park, Rosanna, Thomastown and Watsonia and two mobile libraries.

The service covers 983 square kilometres and includes metropolitan, urban fringe and rural areas. It services a population of 323,840 of whom 128,000 are members. The collection of just over 444,890 items achieves an annual circulation of 3.09 million. There is a staff of 151 and a budget in 2008-09 of $10.73 million. More than 59,000 people participated in a variety of activities during the year. The cost of library provision last year was $33.14 per capita or just 9 cents a day. Averaged out, each person in the region made 4.2 visits and borrowed 12 items for the year.

The exchange process

Library staff exchange agreement between Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus Ohio and Yarra Plenty Regional Library, Melbourne, Australia

In a spirit of cooperation, education and innovation, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Ohio USA and the Yarra Plenty Regional Library in Melbourne Australia agree to join in a mutual staff exchange agreement that will enable each library to learn from the other and to share best practices in library services.

Each library system will arrange for one fulltime library staff member to visit for a one month study with the other's library system. The staff exchange between the two libraries should occur within a two year period, but need not occur during the same time period.

Each library system will be responsible for the selection of their own exchange staff and in making the selection should keep in mind the educational opportunities that each library brings to the table.

The Columbus Metropolitan Library can offer a one month learning opportunity focusing on any of the following areas

--staff work experiences within our branch locations, homework help centers and job help centers

--an orientation to CML and an overview of the library's culture, management and strategic planning processes

--an opportunity to participate in library board and management meetings

--inclusion in all CML staff training opportunities available

--branch visits within CML and visits coordinated with neighboring library systems and OCLC.

Job exchange with Columbus Metropolitan Library

Columbus Metropolitan Library Service(CML) is one of the top library services in the United States and has claimed the number one library service position many times. It has 21 branches in Columbus Ohio and employs over 790 staff. Last year users borrowed more than 16 million items, made 8.2 million visits to the library and asked 1.2 million reference questions.

Our main focus was to learn about the services CML provides to its users. While we were focused more towards youth services, we also looked at services for children, teens and adults. Our schedule included visits to several branch libraries, the main library, operations and administration.

CML's strategic plan has five focal points. The external focus is on

* Young minds support children and their caregivers through the teen years

* Virtual users make technology Open to All

* Power users deliver tomorrow's library today.

The internal focus is on

* CML staff--expand our capacity

* CML staff--engage our team.

Volunteers

The service has over 400 volunteers plus 1100 VolunTeens. The latter help to run the summer reading club (SRC). There is a general job description for volunteers. Newly appointed members receive a welcome handbook and training. There is a volunteer recognition program and a yearly event for all volunteers. Generally there will be an author talk and awards. They also receive a gift at the end of the year. Some of the adult volunteers work for the American Association of Retired People (AARP) and they are paid by AARP to work at the library as a volunteer.

1100 summer reading club VolunTeens, aged 12 to 18, work on the SRC for 8 weeks across all 21 locations during opening hours. These teens

* explain SRC to users and sign them up

* hand out prizes

* help set up, clean up and do attendance counts for programs

* do odd jobs like pick loose materials up, put them in order on carts

* wash baby toys in the ready to read area

* run book shifting projects to create space on shelving

* create posters advertising programs.

Other VolunTeens are active during the...