At the library: Improving services for diverse youth

Jenisa Harris, School-Age Librarian at Washington Public Library was one of 14 Iowa librarians selected by the State Library of Iowa to participate in Project READY, a professional development curriculum for librarians to improve equity and access for diverse youth programs in the library.

Selected by State Library staff through a blind application process, Iowa's cohort is made up of public librarians from across the state. The cohort- led by State Library Youth Services Consultant Angie Manfredi- will work through the 27 modules that make up the Project READY curriculum over the next nine months in an effort to strengthen and broaden their work for children and teens. Librarians that complete the program will receive 35 continuing education credits to go towards meeting their State Library Endorsement renewal.

'We at the State Library are excited to see so many librarians committed to working towards improving their service to Iowa's youth of color and Native youth,” said Manfredi. 'Project READY has been put into action by numerous other libraries across the country and we are pleased that Iowa will be joining this project with the talented and passionate members of this cohort.”

Project READY, which stands for Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth, has the primary focus of on improving relationships with, services to, and resources for youth of color and Native youth. Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and developed over the course of three years by faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science, Project READY features the work and scholarship of more than 40 library and school practitioners, scholars, administrators.

For more on Project READY, go to https://ready.web.unc.edu/.

About the State Library

The State Library of Iowa actively champions libraries. Our two roles are improving library services in Iowa and delivering specialized information services to state government and to Iowans. The State Library is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. www.StateLibraryofIowa.org