Earlier this month, I had a chance to present at UMSI’s Quasi-Con. My topic? How libraries
can tailor our reference services to better suit the needs of our youngest patrons.
As anyone who works with youth can tell you, young children are incredibly curious about
the world around them, but they are still developing many of the skills that would help them
find answers to their questions on their own. That is why libraries that serve young children have a particular responsibility to provide them with quality reference services.
So what are the challenges to providing quality reference services to children?
First, young children are still developing vocabulary and other language skills. They may
not yet understand words like "nonfiction" or "catalog" and may have trouble effectively asking and
answering questions, which can make reference interviews a challenge. Second, children are still
developing the ability to think logically. They may have a particularly difficult time learning
how to search the library catalogue or find materials with the Dewey Decimal system, as both
require logical thinking.
How then can we rethink how to conduct reference interview, create library catalogues and
organize our materials in a way that takes children’s development abilities into account?
In the course of my research, I came across an intriguing fact. Children, even young children,
have the ability to think in terms of images. Digging into this topic more, I learned about a
phenomenon known as the “picture superiority effect,” which essentially states that people can
recall images better than they can recall words. What would happen, I wondered, if we took a
visual approach to reference services for children?
Let’s explore a few possibilities.
Cover Images
A request like “can you help me find the red book?” is not altogether uncommon at the youth
reference desk. It is even more common, however, for children to know a series title or topic but
require cover images to help them pinpoint the specific item they want. Therefore, a simple but
effective approach would be to include cover images in the catalog and to make sure both the
child and librarian can see the monitor at the reference desk. The librarian can then incorporate a
discussion of cover images into the reference interview.
Visual Dictionaries
Libraries can consider having a visual dictionary in their ready reference collections so children
and librarians can refer to pictures during the reference interview. An online visual dictionary
might also be a useful alternative.
Redesigned Catalog for Kids
Numerous studies have shown that children will select books based on the appearance of the
cover and prefer to search by physical attributes as well. Since children are naturally inclined
to search for books visually, we should consider constructing an online search interface that
allows children to do just that. An excellent example is the “Simple Search” on the International
Children’s Digital Library website. Libraries can consider incorporating physical search features
into a separate children’s catalogue.
Call Number Pictures
Most libraries will provide call number ranges at the ends of their bookcases, sometimes with a
list of popular topics within that call number range. Libraries may also wish to include images of
those topics on the ends of bookcases as well.
Topic Stickers
Libraries may wish to consider tagging books about popular topics with stickers. Since young
children are primarily reading picture books and early readers, libraries can add stickers to the
spines of those books, designating perennially popular topics like trains or dinosaurs.
These were the suggestions I presented at the conference. In the discussion that followed, the
usefulness of these techniques for ESL patrons was mentioned, and there seemed to be a lot of
interest in the ICDL catalog. For anyone who is interested in learning more about this catalog
and the usability testing behind it, you can find more information through their website.
Finally, what I hoped to do with this presentation was to open up a discussion about how we
provide library services to children. Let’s keep the conversation going here at UMSI.
- Sarah Cramer, MSI 2014
can tailor our reference services to better suit the needs of our youngest patrons.
As anyone who works with youth can tell you, young children are incredibly curious about
the world around them, but they are still developing many of the skills that would help them
find answers to their questions on their own. That is why libraries that serve young children have a particular responsibility to provide them with quality reference services.
So what are the challenges to providing quality reference services to children?
First, young children are still developing vocabulary and other language skills. They may
not yet understand words like "nonfiction" or "catalog" and may have trouble effectively asking and
answering questions, which can make reference interviews a challenge. Second, children are still
developing the ability to think logically. They may have a particularly difficult time learning
how to search the library catalogue or find materials with the Dewey Decimal system, as both
require logical thinking.
How then can we rethink how to conduct reference interview, create library catalogues and
organize our materials in a way that takes children’s development abilities into account?
In the course of my research, I came across an intriguing fact. Children, even young children,
have the ability to think in terms of images. Digging into this topic more, I learned about a
phenomenon known as the “picture superiority effect,” which essentially states that people can
recall images better than they can recall words. What would happen, I wondered, if we took a
visual approach to reference services for children?
Let’s explore a few possibilities.
Cover Images
A request like “can you help me find the red book?” is not altogether uncommon at the youth
reference desk. It is even more common, however, for children to know a series title or topic but
require cover images to help them pinpoint the specific item they want. Therefore, a simple but
effective approach would be to include cover images in the catalog and to make sure both the
child and librarian can see the monitor at the reference desk. The librarian can then incorporate a
discussion of cover images into the reference interview.
Visual Dictionaries
Libraries can consider having a visual dictionary in their ready reference collections so children
and librarians can refer to pictures during the reference interview. An online visual dictionary
might also be a useful alternative.
Redesigned Catalog for Kids
Numerous studies have shown that children will select books based on the appearance of the
cover and prefer to search by physical attributes as well. Since children are naturally inclined
to search for books visually, we should consider constructing an online search interface that
allows children to do just that. An excellent example is the “Simple Search” on the International
Children’s Digital Library website. Libraries can consider incorporating physical search features
into a separate children’s catalogue.
Call Number Pictures
Most libraries will provide call number ranges at the ends of their bookcases, sometimes with a
list of popular topics within that call number range. Libraries may also wish to include images of
those topics on the ends of bookcases as well.
Topic Stickers
Libraries may wish to consider tagging books about popular topics with stickers. Since young
children are primarily reading picture books and early readers, libraries can add stickers to the
spines of those books, designating perennially popular topics like trains or dinosaurs.
These were the suggestions I presented at the conference. In the discussion that followed, the
usefulness of these techniques for ESL patrons was mentioned, and there seemed to be a lot of
interest in the ICDL catalog. For anyone who is interested in learning more about this catalog
and the usability testing behind it, you can find more information through their website.
Finally, what I hoped to do with this presentation was to open up a discussion about how we
provide library services to children. Let’s keep the conversation going here at UMSI.
- Sarah Cramer, MSI 2014