Week 12 – Twitter Chat reflection

[Lisa Schofeld]

Week 12 Twitter Reflection

The Twitter chat covered children and teenagers in libraries and what people felt about responsibilities of librarians and supervising parent guardians in the library. Whilst in the library children should be supervised by a parent or guardian to ensure their personal safety. Being a public place anyone with good or bad intentions could visit the library so it is prudent that parents and guardians are within sight of children to ensure they are not approached by strangers. If I were taking one of my nephews or nieces to the library we would go and choose books for them first so they can read next to me while I choose my books or magazines.

Teenagers are a little different, once they are 14 or over it would be expected that they may not always be supervised but it is the librarians responsibility to ensure other library patrons are respected and so if they are being loud and boistrous then they should be asked to quiet down and if still a problem then they would be asked to visit the library another time. I often find in libraries there are dedicated spaces for children but nothing for teenagers. A great example I liked of what a library could have is the Kinokuniya bookstore in Sydney. The bookstore is a Japanese chain store and has a coffee shop, children’s book area and then for young adults they have a section with window seats and anime and graphic novels along with young adult fiction. The space is light and away from the main part of the bookstore and has room for teens to sit on bench seats or the floor to read their favourite books and comics.

Libraries now have so much more on offer than they did when I was young. There are story time activities, craft activities, and for the adults there are programmes where authors are invited to present. There is really no reason for anyone to be bored at the library with so much on offer these days. I don’t think of holiday programmes as simple entertainment but great opportunities to foster a love of reading in children and a way for parents and children to enjoy something together. I don’t have children myself but if I did I would certainly be making the most of what is on offer at the library. I know my friends have even borrowed toys from their local library which is a great idea as children outgrow things so fast.

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