Youth Services Specialist

Description

Department: Youth Services 

Pay Grade: 109

FLSA Status: Non-Exempt

JOB SUMMARY

• The Youth Services Specialist contributes to the effective operations of the library by providing a variety of literary, educational, cultural programs, activities, and services for youth aged birth-18 and their caregivers. This position is responsible for working collaboratively with all other library departments, outside agencies, and organizations for the planning and implementation of a wide variety of programs. Reports to the Community Library Manager/Library Lead.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

• Provides reference and readers advisory services in the Teen area and Children's area, or as needed at other service points; provides instructional use on library resources (books and digital) and assists patrons with inter-library loan requests; instructs teens, tweens, and their caregivers in information gathering, research skills, and digital literacy skills.
• Provides friendly, courteous, and accurate service to all library users.
• Develops, presents, and evaluates workshops and programs for children, teens, and their caregivers.
• Creates displays for the Teen area or Children's area, and other areas of the library as directed.
• Assists the Regional Librarian for Children’s and Teen Programming in the preparation of the annual Youth Services budget, providing timely updates on the use of funds.
• Collaborates with Regional Librarian for Children’s and Teen Programming and the library’s administrative team to prepare short and long- term goals to serve children, teens, and their caregivers.
• Participates in regular team communications to discuss and develop programming themes, special event planning and participation, patron policies, expectations, issues and concerns, library communication, and community involvement.
• Keeps informed about outcomes of departmental community needs assessments to identify patron needs in order to create tailored services and programs for children, teens, and their caregivers.
• Coordinates with community schools and other organizations and agencies in order to promote library services, materials, and programs.
• Creates informational material, bibliographies, pathfinders, blog posts and/or other resources highlighting books or topics related to children’s and YA literature, interests, etc. for the library, the website, or other public information venues; contributes to the monthly staff newsletter; creates internal procedures manuals and troubleshooting guides.
• Actively encourages the use of the library and invites community members to participate in library events and activities.
• Represents the library at professional meetings, activities, and conferences as assigned; prepare written reports for the Library Director about these events and new learnings.
• Remains current on trends in children’s and teen literature, programming, and culture through consortium meetings, workshops, and other appropriate seminars.
• May perform opening and closing procedures.
• Monitors the behavior and conduct of patrons in the Teen Room and Children’s Area and intervene as necessary to ensure appropriate conduct.
• Seeks out and applies for grants and additional funding; administers funds received and prepares necessary reports.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree; OR, an Associate’s degree with six (6) years of related work experience; OR, 8 years of related work experience is required; PLUS
• Experience working with and for children and/or teens required.
• One year experience developing and presenting programs for teens and/or tweens preferred.
• Requires a Bachelor’s Degree; four (4) years of directly related work experience with children and/or teens; or equivalent combination of education and experiences

Additional Requirements:

• One (1) year of experience developing and presenting programs for teens and/or tweens preferred

Licenses or Certifications:

• Valid driver’s license and insurability required.

Special Requirements:

• None.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: 

• Knowledge of developmental, recreational and educational needs of children and teens.
• Knowledge of current trends in library services for and with children, teens, and their caregivers.
• Knowledge of standard library procedures, current information technology, Internet and database search capabilities.
• Knowledge of best practices in Children’s Services, including guidelines and standards published by ALA, YALSA and other recognized organizations.
• Knowledge of effective practices in community assessment, program evaluation and outcomes measurement.
• Ability to communicate effectively with others, orally and in writing, including through email.
• Ability to identify and translate the needs and interests of children and their caregivers into effective library services and programs.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, patrons, user groups, community organizations, volunteer groups and to serve the public courteously.
• Ability to recognize and set priorities, and to use initiative and independent judgment in a variety of situations.
• Ability to learn and stay current with emerging technologies, including digital media.

Physical Demands: 

• Work is typically performed with the employee sitting at a desk, standing for extending periods, or bending/stooping. The employee must be able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds routinely, climb stairs, stand for extended periods of time, extended walking within and outside branch locations, reach, bend, and stoop. Full range of hand and finger motion is required for data entry purposes. The ability to distinguish color is required for network wiring purposes.

Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:

• Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium.
• Climbing: Ascending or descending, stairs, ramps, and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized.
• Crawling: Moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet.
• Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine.
• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips.
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm.
• Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand. Must have the ability to place records, files, and boxes weighing no more than 25 pounds on shelves about head level.
• Manual Dexterity: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.
• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound.
• Hearing 2: Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. Must have the ability to hear well enough to carry on a normal conversation with clients both in person and on the telephone.
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees.
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles.
• Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion.
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction.
• Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.
• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.
• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles.
• Talking 1: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Visual Acuity 1: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading. Must have the ability to see well enough to interpret data on a computer monitor.
• Visual Acuity 2: Including color, depth perception, and field vision.
• Visual Acuity 3: Visual Acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make general observations of facilities or structures.
• Visual Acuity 4: Have visual acuity to operate motor vehicles and/or heavy equipment.
• Visual Acuity 5: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, operation of machines; using measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication parts at distances close to the eyes.
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.

Work Environment: 

• Typical office/library environment. Some fluctuations in building temperature related to HVAC problems can cause uncomfortable periods of heat or cold. Some periods of elevated noise levels. Some stress related to the type of work being performed may be encountered e.g., pressure related to periods of high-volume activity and multiple demands. The work week is a 40-hour work week. After Hours and holiday availability, while rare, is required.

Live Oak Public Libraries has the right to revise this job description at any time. This description does not represent in any way a contract of employment.

It is the policy of the Library to provide equal employment opportunities to all people in all aspects of employer/employee relations without discrimination.