Youth Services Roundtable a Success!

Thirteen librarians representing Youth Services departments from 12 different libraries in Iowa gathered at the Fairfield Public Library on Wednesday, January 11th to discuss issues related to providing quality service to Iowa's children. Communities represented included Donnellson, Ft. Madison, Keokuk, Centerville, Bettendorf, Richland, Fairfield, Keosauqua, LeClaire, Mt. Pleasant, and Oskaloosa.

The librarians discussed a variety of important topics, including providing outreach services to local daycares, getting teenagers involved in library programming, and the pros and cons of offering awards for Summer Reading Programs. Mary Camerson, Youth Services consultant from the State Library was present and offered great advice, as well as free books for librarians to take back to their libraries.

The group overwhelmingly reported that they'd like to meet again. Plans are in the works for a late summer/early fall meeting.