POLICY Mission Statement: The Hennepin County Library is one of many community agencies serving individual children, children in groups, parents, and other adults who work with children. The library provides a broad range of services and materials and a qualified professional and support staff dedicated to working with children. The library’s Children’s Services supports and encourages reading for pleasure, reading for information, and a lifelong commitment to learning. Roles of Children’s Services in the Hennepin County Library System: The Hennepin County Library is one of many community agencies serving individual children, children in groups, parents, and other adults who work with children. The primary focus of Children’s Services is that of an information or learning center and children’s reading center. The secondary focus of children’s services is to provide a link to other organizations working with children. As an Information or Learning Center, the Library provides: · professional staff offering quality information service and commitment to working with children · free and open access to all library materials · quality in-house programming designed to support the library as an information/ learning center As a Reading Center, the Library provides: · professional staff offering quality reader’s advisory service and storytimes based on in-depth knowledge of children’s materials · fiction, nonfiction, and audiovisual materials that reflect quality, current trends that are popular with children and are available in sufficient quantities · an introduction to the wide range of children’s reading and viewing materials through storytimes, book talks and other presentations In linking together with other organizations serving children, the Library: · shares resources, information, and referrals · avoids unnecessary duplication of programs and services by maintaining awareness of the goals, objectives and clientele of other agencies, organizations and schools by working with them to better serve children. · helps identify issues affecting the needs of children and the adults working with them · acts as a child advocate, particularly on library-related issues · promotes services and materials by providing programs and shops to interested users and non-users · participates in community-wide committees, cooperates in jointly sponsored activities Return to Policy Index
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