Library Partnerships

New Book Helps School and Public Libraries Connect, Partner, and Share Resources to Improve and Expand Services Even During Times of Extreme Fiscal Restraint

March 9, 2009, Medford, NJ—Information Today, Inc. (ITI) has announced the publication of Library Partnerships: Making Connections Between School and Pubic Libraries by Tasha Squires. In the new book, young adult library consultant Squires demonstrates a range of ways in which school and public libraries can create mutually beneficial relationships.

According to Library Journal’s 2009 Budget Survey, most libraries are anticipating and preparing for budget cuts during this fiscal year. This means that libraries and librarians are facing the task of doing more with fewer resources. In Library Partnerships, Squires offers practical strategies for school and public librarians to appreciate, communicate, and build on the benefits of public/school library relationships in order to make the most of tight budgets, create resource rich environments, and promote the development of lifelong learners.

For public and school librarians to reap the benefits of working together, they must embrace one of Squires’s core principles: collaboration. “While we all know what collaboration is, and we know that we are supposed to be doing it, we don’t always find the time for the one type of collaboration for promoting literacy in the youth we serve: collaboration between school and public libraries,” Squires said. “This is a disservice to the youth we worry about night and day, trying always to increase their desire to read, learn, and grow, both within and outside our library walls.”

“When library partnerships are born and nurtured between school and public librarians, programs flourish that service young people in extraordinary ways,” according to Gail Bush, PhD, Director for the Center for Teaching Through Children’s Books, writing in the Foreword to Library Partnerships. “Generations mingle, artifacts are displayed, hot books are booktalked, summertime is reading time, and exhausted librarians are fulfilled.

“As funding is cut at many school and public libraries, partnerships become even more important,” said Amy Alessio, a teen librarian and co-author of A Year of Programs for Teens “This practical guide offers many time-saving paths to successful cooperation.” Jennifer Bromann, school library media specialist at Lincoln-Way (IL) Central High School, called Library Partnerships “the most comprehensive and practical source available on partnerships between public and school libraries.”

Library Partnerships includes the following chapters:

1. Relationships Take Work
2. Partnership Basics
3. Changing Seasons
4. After-School Blues
5. From Basic to Bravo!
6. Using Technology to Partner
7. Resource Sharing
8. Visits
9. Garnering Support
10. Keeping it Going

In addition to the Foreword by Gail Bush, Library Partnerships features an Introduction by the author, interviews with school and public librarians who are currently involved in collaboration efforts, numerous helpful sidebars, a recommended reading list, and an index. This practical and timely book is a must-read for school and public librarians who want to successfully connect and collaborate with other youth-focused professionals in their areas.

About the Author
Tasha Squires currently works as a young adult consultant for the Shorewood-Troy Public Library District in Shorewood, Illinois, collaborating on programs for teens while completing her certification as a school library media specialist. She was the young adult librarian for the Fountaindale Public Library District in Bolingbrook, Illinois, for more than eight years. She has contributed articles to Know Kidding: The Best of the Best in Youth Services (Wheeling, Illinois, 2003) and the Info Career Trends electronic newsletter. Tasha holds an MLIS from Dominican University.

Library Partnerships: Making Connections Between School and Pubic Libraries( 224 pp/softbound/$39.50/ISBN 978-1-57387-362-8) is published by Information Today, Inc. It is available in bookstores and direct from the publisher by calling (800) 300-9868 [outside the U.S., call (609) 654-6266]; faxing (609) 654-4309; emailing custserv@infotoday.com; or visiting the ITI website at www.infotoday.com.