<b>Youth Services</b>

The ALISE Youth Services Special Interest Group (SIG) presents a panel exploring how youth services programs support communities. Community issues of homelessness and barriers to youth engagement are considered, as well as the need to honor the voices of all library users. The session will begin with presentations of papers (15 minutes each), followed by a themed question-and-answer portion to conclude. Attendees will be able to share their own experiences and work-in-progress on these topics during the discussion. Amanda Hovious will discuss the barriers that may prevent rural teens and youth from engaging in their libraries, regardless of whether youth services are offered. Findings from a needs assessment survey conducted with Kansas public libraries (N = 50) as a component of the statewide Adaptive and Resilient Infrastructures Driven by Social Equity (ARISE) will be shared. Jessie Maimone will present information on the experiences of black teenagers in the public library. The aim of the research is to identify how race affects their interactions within the library, what they see as the purpose of libraries, and what an ideal library would look like for them. Vikki C. Terrile will share research about library support of homeless children and families. Practitioner and/or scholarly work in LIS is focused on people who are or appear to be chronically homeless adults. Children and families who are experiencing homelessness are rarely mentioned. Terrile shares an exploration of her work partnering with shelters and how this experience is used with LIS students. DeAnza Williams and Caitlin Tobin will detail the reading experience of children and youth as experts of their own reading preferences and library experiences. They will propose potential methods for incorporating youth voices in children and youth literature courses. Youth services can nurture youth, community, and support learning and family connections. This presentation and the subsequent attendee discussion will explore the ways in which the LIS field can work to address these and other community needs through excellent youth services.