Children Choose: Children's Advisory Boards Toolkit
Children’s collection development and programming is planned and implemented by adults based on librarians’ knowledge and experiences of what children might need. Libraries are often missing direct input from school-aged children regarding books and programming.
Our team created a research-based framework to implement Children’s Advisory Boards (CABs) in libraries. In a CAB, a group of children advise the library on collection development and programming. Using best practices that emerged during our eight test CABs,
we created a toolkit.
The toolkit includes background information on how we developed and implemented CABs in three libraries. Available as both a PDF and as a website, the toolkit features a How-To section, Best Practices, and Takeaways. It also includes a resources page, with
citations and links to the research we did when creating this program.
Our team was made up of three MLIS students at the University of Washington. Mandi and Stacey work in youth services in public libraries, while Kourtni is a teacher-librarian at an elementary school. The three of us met while on a study abroad in the UK looking
at diversity in children’s literature through the University of Washington Information School. It was during our studies abroad that we came up with the idea of bringing research being done by students at Cambridge University in the education department to
libraries in the United States. We created a research-based framework and implemented three pilot CABs.
Our group piloted these CABs in three different locations at two different types of libraries: public and elementary school. Based on research of child information behavior and the needs of children in a research setting, we instituted a protocol for our pilot
CABs. each location’s CAB operated differently and fit the community in which it was created. Our research-based framework in conducting the pilot CABs was guided by Jen Aggleton’s recommendations that we “have a balance between allowing the children to participate
and not putting undue pressure on them.”
During the CABs, children chose diverse mirror and window books. They gave program suggestions, like kids craft fairs or dance parties or inviting astronauts to speak. Children enjoyed having their opinions heard by library professionals. Caregivers enjoyed
their children's participation in these groups. 80% of children wanted CABs to continue at their libraries.
CABs allow children to become a more integral part of library programming and purchasing decisions. The publishing industry consists of books largely written by adults, published by adults, and ordered by adults. In turn, we librarians put them on our shelves
using our knowledge of literacy and trends, cross our fingers, and hope that children like them. To bridge this gap, it is necessary to bring the much needed and oft-overlooked perspectives and opinions of children into the world of books and libraries. We
offer our CAB toolkit as a way to more fully invite children’s voices into library programming and collection development.
By combining academic research with real world implementation, we created the first multi-site study of Children’s Advisory Boards within librarianship. This allowed us to create a resource for librarians to make their libraries a space where children’s voices
echo in laughter and in influence.
If you have questions or comments, please use the contact page on the
Children Choose website.
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In mid-July, the Transylvania County Library hosted the entire program outdoors. There were activities
for all ages from putting together your own Clifford ears to dressing up as Harry Potter characters for a photo op. If that didn’t interest you, Clifford, Geronimo Stilton and Dog Man were the celebrities on site that day for children to meet. There was a
non-stop flow of families from start to finish and with little to no set-up, it was an easy program for Youth Services Supervisor, Erick Brock, to put together.
