Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth

The role as media mentor is a core function of supporting the lives and literacies of children and families in a twenty-first-century library. Equipping youth services practitioners to serve as media mentors is the shared responsibility of library training programs, creators of professional standards and professional development opportunities, and decision makers and practitioners at every level of library operations. Theis white paper recommends the following: (1) Every library have librarians and other staff serving youth who embrace their role as media mentors for their community. (2) Media mentors support children and families in their media use and decisions. (3) Library schools provide resources and training to support future librarians and youth services practitioners in serving as media mentors. (4) Professional development for current librarians and youth services practitioners include formal training and informal support for serving as media mentors.