Becoming a Media Mentor: A Guide for Working with Children and Families

Foreword by Chip Donohue

In a time of rapidly changing technologies, the role of the youth services librarian has expanded to include the realm of digital media. Supporting children's literacy now means serving as a media mentor. This book empowers youth services staff to confidently assist families and caregivers as they navigate the digital world, guiding them towards digital media experiences that will translate into positive and productive lifelong learning skills, regardless of format.

Melding the latest research and key messages from a variety of experts with replicable examples, this book defines what it means to be a media mentor, providing historical background and context; outlines three types of media mentorship: media advisory, programming, and access to curated media; outlines the implications of media mentorship in libraries, focusing on a shift from the notion of "screen time" to "healthy media decisions"; draws on detailed case studies from a wide variety of libraries and community partnerships to showcase inspiring media mentorship in action with ages 0-14; provides guidelines for working with diverse families and caregivers; and explores management issues around media mentorship, ALSC competencies, suggestions of additional resources, and professional development.

Guiding children's librarians to define, solidify, and refine their roles as media mentors, this book in turn will help facilitate digital literacy for children and families.

Claudia Haines leads storytimes, hosts maker programs, and gets great books into the hands of kids and teens as the youth services librarian and media mentor at the Homer (Alaska) Public Library. She is a coauthor of the Association for Library Service to Children's white paper, Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth, and trains other librarians as media mentors. She serves on local and national committees that support families and literacy. She blogs at never shushed.

Cen Campbell is a children's librarian, an author, and the founder of the website Little eLit. She has driven a bookmobile, managed branch libraries, and developed innovative programs for babies, young children, and teens, and now supports children's librarians who serve as media mentors in their communities. She was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker in 2014 for her work on Little eLit. She is a coauthor of the Association for Library Service to Children's white paper, Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth.