Social Services is often a hot topic in the LIS world. However, the conversation often centers around adult services which can be exclusionary or inaccessible for teens under 18. This presentation will highlight some unique challenges that teens face, provide examples of teen-specific social services that we found helpful (especially in an urban public library setting), and look into some larger theoretical questions and frameworks around social work and libraries. Finally, we hope that this will be a place where people can connect and exchange ideas of how to better serve teens who are facing difficult circumstances.
Instructor
Helen Li
Helen Li (she/her) is a teen librarian with Kansas City Public Library in Missouri. She has a MLIS from the University of Washington and won the Outstanding New Librarian award from the Missouri Library Association in 2023.
Estrella Hernandez
Adjunct Trainer
Kansas City Public Library