Russian Library Association

Guidelines for Young Adult Library Services
 in Russian Public Libraries 

Saint Petersburg 2012

Contents

Introduction
Purposes and Basic Conditions of Young Adult Library Services Development
Library users
Types of Specialized Services
Library Space
Resources
Technology
Virtual Communication
Services
Virtual Services
Public Events and Interest Groups
Young Adult Involvement in Library Activities
Serving People with Disabilities and Special Needs
Staff
Collaboration with Other Organizations
Service Evaluation Parameters
Planning and Promoting Services
Guidelines Implementation Mechanisms

Introduction

Young adults comprise 27% of the Russian population, that is, there are 38 million young citizens in Russia today. 
Young people, because of their sociopsychological and age peculiarities, fulfill social functions that are sometimes controversial and ambiguous. On the one hand, they have their own value system and lack life experience; on the other hand, they are objects and subjects of socialization, adaptation and mentoring by older people. Social mobility and economic initiative are characteristic of young people, yet they are only partially involved in social and political relations and somewhat passive.
These are the reasons why many countries, including Russia, are paying more and more attention to young adults.
Federal law of the Russian Federation “On Librarianship” (Sec. 14) emphasizes that the state supports the development of library services for the most vulnerable social groups, which include children and young adults. The same law guarantees those groups “the right to be provided with library services in public libraries, dedicated state libraries for children and young adults and libraries in educational institutions in accordance with their rules and regulations”.
The IFLA Public Library Service Guidelines state: “The public library should attempt to meet the needs of all groups in the community regardless of age and physical, economic or social circumstances. However, it has a special responsibility to meet the needs of children and young people”.
The IFLA Guidelines for Library Services for Young Adults define the library mission in the following: “The mission of the library with respect to young adult services is to assist the individual in achieving a successful transition from childhood to adulthood by providing both access to resources, and an environment that meets the specific needs of young adults for intellectual, emotional, and social development”.
These Guidelines for Young Adult Library Services in Russian Public Libraries (hereinafter referred to as Guidelines) are a result of collaboration. The document has been developed by specialists of Russian State Library for Young Adults (RSLYA) under the supervision of Irina Mikhnova, vice-president, chair of Library Services for Young Adults Section of the Russian Library Association (RLA), with the assistance of section delegates.
The document was discussed by a group of directors of libraries for children and young adults at a session in Moscow on 21 April 2011; the RSLYA Academic Council meeting (17 May 2011); the annual section meeting in Tyumen (25 May 2011); the 18th International Conference Crimea 2011 (Sudak, Ukraine, 8 June 2011); the VII Interregional Library Junior Conference “Library as a developing environment for the new generation” (Syktyvkar, Komi Republic, 24 November 2011); the II Public Libraries Forum (St. Petersburg, 8 December 2011).
As these Guidelines were being developed, important and circumspect RLA documents such as the Standard for Public Library Services, the Standard for Special Libraries for Blind People of a Russian federal subject, Guidelines for Children’s Libraries of Russia (acting as standard), Russian Librarian’s Ethical Code and many others were taken into consideration. These documents contain all the necessary standards, regulations and limitations that are applicable to all public libraries serving young people as well as other categories of users.
Recommendations in the present document are based on fair knowledge of the practice and main trends of young adult library services in Russia and abroad; they have been approved and practically implemented by the Russian State Library for Young Adults. The authors have taken into account the IFLA Guidelines for Library Services for Young Adults as well as the main principles of information and library services for young adults developed in some regions of Russia. 
The Guidelines for Young Adults Library Services in Russian Public Libraries define the basic principles, organizational and technological conditions that will allow Russian public libraries to meet the educational, informational, cultural and recreational needs of young adults in a more complete, competent and creative way. By studying the interests and needs of this user category, the library utilizes the available means and techniques to encourage young people to develop positive attitudes, fulfill their potential, become more mature and find their place in society. 
The Guidelines’ general aim is to vest libraries, cultural authorities, organizations concerned and the users themselves with the right to choose the system/structure of young adult library services that:
•	Meets their rapidly changing needs and interests;
•	Fits the social and cultural situation of a specific territory;
•	Aligns with the global trends in library services for this user category.
The Guidelines are of advisory nature and set the benchmark for library specialists, representatives of professional organizations for young adults as also for government bodies.
This document is intended for:
•	Employees of libraries of any type — both city, rural and regional;
•	Library science specialists;
•	Professors, students and postgraduates of library schools;
•	Culture executives;
•	The library community;
•	Specialists of the organizations working with libraries on the social partnership basis.

Purposes and Basic Conditions of Young Adult Library Services Development
It should be noted that the problem of encouraging young people to come to the library is closely related to survival of the library as a social institution: if today young people don’t come to library, tomorrow they won’t bring their children there.
Libraries should consider the number of objective obstacles that are positive factors per se but can influence young people’s attitude towards libraries negatively in certain circumstances and even pose a threat to the existence of libraries in the present and in the future. The most obvious of these are:
•	A free and open book market with severe competition that forces publishers to meet the variety of buyers’ needs and consciously single out the young adult literature segment as the most promising market segment, frequently using library practices to work with their customers;
•	Rapid technological change and growing accessibility of information from various sources (mostly digital, web, mobile), which are the most attractive and familiar to young people;
•	A huge variety of recreational activities for young people, usually on a commercial basis, that meets their rapidly changing demands and focuses on general cultural priorities and youth subcultures;
•	The fact that due to the information retrieved from the internet, personal observation and foreign peer interaction young people are aware of how public and university libraries of developed countries work and what they look like — and that most of the Russian libraries are completely different.

The main purpose of libraries for young adults is an active contribution to the adolescent’s education, lifelong learning, socialization, personality development, fulfillment of his/her creative potential, competitive skills acquisition. Young adult library services must support and promote reading, encourage information and computer literacy, develop cultural awareness, foster moral values and assist in personal development and social adaptation.
The library must strive to be regarded by young people as a) a “home” of knowledge and guarantor of free access to information, b) an institution that helps with social and professional adaptation, facilitates entry into the “adult” world, c) an environment suitable for realization of their abilities, talents and social ambitions, d) a place for intellectual activities and communication. 
For these purposes:
•	The library’s activity and sphere of influence should not be limited to its territory, but continued in external and virtual venues that are of interest for young adults;
•	Special attention should be paid to young adults with special needs, people with disabilities, and people belonging to social and linguistic minorities;
•	The library’s resource and information services should be tantamount to its socialization, cultural, and communicative function;
•	The library’s activity should be reflective of the current ideological and political diversity in the society, the library should take a reasonable attitude to various young people’s subcultures;
•	The library should have a universal collection developed with young adults’ needs in mind, up-to-date information technology as well as tried-and-tested and innovative methods of work with young adults.

The basic conditions of young adult library services development are the following:
•	The essential condition of young adult library services development is the government’s and cultural authorities’ understanding of and particular attention to young people as a group of priority need, who, like children, require special library services.   
•	Libraries that serve young adults must be provided with guaranteed budget financing (on federal, regional, and municipal level) as well as extra-budgetary funds and funds from profit-making activities;      
•	The basic tools of library services development are the complete automatization and computerization of all information and bibliographical processes, the quality of printed collections that meet the needs of young people, library structure improvement, creation of free-interaction areas for young users, training and retraining of young adult librarians;
•	Important resources are social partnership, adoption of innovative solutions developed in the country’s library system, creative adoption of foreign libraries’ practices, expansion of the methodology support systems on the part of higher-level specialized libraries, PR events aimed at promoting readers’ and the community’s interest for the library as a social institution, building up the libraries’ prestige; 
•	A special role in the development of young adult library services is given to the Russian Library Association, which is able to attract the attention of legislators, the public and potential trustees, establish and strengthen international relations, carry out international projects involving both young librarians and young library users.

Library Users

These Guidelines use the term “young people” to refer to citizens of Russia between 14 and 30 years old, which corresponds the “Strategy of State Youth Policy in the Russian Federation” enacted by RF Government executive order № 1760-p of 18 December, 2006. 
The majority (more than 60) of the federal subjects of Russia have passed laws on state (regional) youth policy, where people between 14 (18) and 30 years old are declared young adults (exceptions are Moscow — 14-25 years old, and the Chechen Republic where age limit is set to 35 years old). Standards of services provided by government and municipal young people’s institutions are also aimed at citizens between 14 and 30. Russian Federal State Statistics Service lists social groups between 15 and 29 years of age as “young adults”.
Every public library should decide at what age group its services are to be aimed. It may depend on whether specialized young adults services are the core activity for the entire library or one of its divisions, or only certain special services and related resources are provided to this user category. This age group should be mentioned in the library charter. 
Young people coming to the public library are at different stages of socialization and physical development; they belong to different social and sociocultural groups. They are high school, vocational school and university students, workers and businessmen, journalists and IT specialists, doctors and teachers, economists and lawyers; young families and young parents etc. Their social status determines their informational, cultural, communicational, recreational and other needs that the library is supposed to meet. For library services to be effective, the library should collect and analyze information about the needs of different young library user groups — existing users, virtual, or potential users.
Library structure and range of services may vary in different libraries; the key is to guarantee competent, in-depth and diverse library and information services that meet the needs and interests of young users and involve them in both everyday work and special projects. 

Types of Specialized Services

Young adults are a significant user category, crucial for the public library development perspectives, therefore they demand respect for their needs, a special communication style, relevant services and events and, very importantly, a dedicated young adult space in the library.

Young Adult Space in the Public Library
A good way to attract and keep young customers (both common in libraries abroad and easy to implement in Russia) is to create a special young adult space within the library building; it should be designed and equipped with young users’ developmental needs in mind and should have a relevant range of resources, technologies, services, programming and community work.
In this case, young people coming to the library will be able to satisfy their need for education and self-education, personal growth and professional development in the “adult zone” with its universal collections, while using the young adult space to read for pleasure, look for psychological support and career and social adaptation advice, information (legal etc.) about young people’s issues, and to socialize.  
Such young adult spaces should be created in central libraries in cities and regional library systems, as well as central libraries in Russian federal subjects.
Municipal Specialized Libraries for Young Adults (Youth Libraries)
Libraries that provide dedicated young adult services are especially important. Whether a dedicated branch for young adults is necessary within the municipal library network is determined on a case by case basis depending on the system’s aims and functions, materials, technology and staff resources, the social and age structure of the population the library serves.
The optimum solution in this case is to create a new dedicated young adult library with the local authorities’ approval and financial support. If a universal public library is converted into a young adult library, it is important to take care that the interests of other user categories are not infringed upon. Foreign libraries’ experience should be taken into account when the concept of a specialized library for young adults is developed. 

Regional Libraries for Young Adults (Youth Libraries, Libraries for Children and Young Adults)
Establishing a regional young adult library is expedient if it can become a testing ground for new methodologies and practices of service for young people and a model for other libraries in the region. It directly depends on whether the authorities are ready to secure a proper maintenance standard (premises, technologies, resources) and whether the library has staff qualified to provide modern young users with services calibrated to their needs and to understand young adult service methodologies.
A specialized regional library for young adults (youth library, library for children and young adults) can and should introduce innovative practices, offering methodological support to all libraries that serve young people in the region, acting as an information and resource centre for all regional youth organizations regardless of which authority they are subordinate to.    
The visible tendency towards amalgamation of libraries for children and libraries for young adults into libraries for children and young adults requires special care while considering the viability of such union, as the user age limit is lowered to 16-18 years (i.e. graduation from school) naturally in this case. Such amalgamation must never be carried out for system optimization purposes only, without taking into account the users’ best interests. In libraries for children and young adults one of the age groups usually becomes dominant. For this reason it must be remembered that in a library for children and young adults, children have more opportunities than young adults to develop their needs and interests as they grow up, gradually “rising above their age level”.

Russian State Library for Young Adults (RSLYA)
As a federal-level library, RSLYA is both a model and a testing ground for new young adult library services in Russian public libraries. Its mission is to encourage library cooperation and integration into the international library community, and to promote the idea of dedicated young adult librarianship in the public consciousness. 

Library Space
Both for a dedicated young adult library and for a young adult space in an ordinary public library the priority is to create an attractive, comfortable environment integrated into modern communication technologies that young people use outside the library. On the one hand, young people’s need for personal space must be taken into consideration; on the other hand, there must be facilities for group work and socializing. 
The library must always come across as a safe and friendly territory, appealing and consistent with young users’ lifestyle. Its image must evoke such ideas as “The library is a lifestyle”, “Visiting the library is a way of life”, “The library is safe”, “The library is a place where you want to live”.
A dedicated young adult library or a young adult space in a public library must:   
•	Allow users to move around the library freely with their laptops and mobile devices (provide Wi-Fi access and electrical sockets where they are convenient for readers);
•	Allow users to bring their own printed materials into the library in order to study (library materials, therefore, must be electronically protected against unauthorized removal from the library premises);
•	Select colours and interior decoration elements that are appealing for the target audience;
•	If it is necessary and possible – visually expand library spaces, for example, by replacing brick walls with glass partitions;
•	Design interiors that acknowledge young people’s interests and lifestyle and mark the library as a place where young people can feel valued and understood;
•	Develop a comprehensive visual navigation system in the library building;
•	Take into consideration the interests of people with disabilities and special needs (low shelves and wide aisles, no thresholds, special equipment and special toilets, a children’s room etc.);
•	Provide comfortable seating for individual study and group work, formal and informal communication, tutoring and creativity;
•	Provide an opportunity to have a snack while reading the news (the easiest way is to install coffee and snack vending machines; if possible – establish a library café);
•	Create “quiet corners” for watching and listening to library audiovisual materials;
•	Provide access to drinking water (install water coolers or other sources of drinking water).

Resources

The contents of the library collection – whether it is a specialized young adult library, a library with a young adult zone or a library that serves young people along with other user categories – must reflect the diversity of opinions and points of view that exist in society.       
Young people have a right to choose all sources of information that meet their needs, without limitations. Exceptions are age restricted materials (such as 16+ or 18+ video films) and materials related to propaganda of hatred, violence, cruelty and pornography and officially added to the Federal List of Extremist Materials (access to such materials is restricted and regulated by special documents).
The basis of the library collection for young people consists of publications in different formats and media: printed media (books, periodicals) and electronic publications both in Russian and in other languages.
It is expedient to include those publications into the library collection on the principle that they mutually complement each other: on the one hand, it will allow to spend the acquisition budget effectively, and on the other hand, it will force librarians to become more competent and work harder to provide open access to the collection and inform the public about its contents. 
Collection development should take into account different social and age user groups and their need for learning, education, professional and social development, creative, professional, social and personal self-actualization. 
Librarians need to be familiar with young people’s genre and theme preferences. For example, when young adults read for pleasure, they choose science fiction, fantasy, romance, adventure and crime fiction in addition to classics, popular science and historical fiction. Interest in genre varies depending on readers’ age, sex, level of education or subculture affiliation. 
It should also be noted that different groups of young people are highly (often mainly) interested in such formats and media as talking books, multimedia editions, DVD and Blu-Ray video, comics and graphic novels, board games and video games, which may be new for the library. Sheet music and music records are also attractive for young users. 
Library specialists should pay attention to musical and literary recordings in vinyl discs and magnetic tapes, video on tapes, slides and diapositives, postage stamps that are still kept in many libraries. The demand for those media of the 1950s-1980s had temporarily subsided, but now it is reviving again among young people.
It is advisable to stick to set of conditions while organizing and allocating the library collection in specialized libraries for young people and young adult zones. Consistently following these recommendations will allow to take the sociopsychological aspects of this age group into consideration. More specifically, they are:
•	Free access to the largest possible amount of printed materials (provided that shelves are designed to be accessible to wheelchair users, which entail certain height and placement limitations);
•	Combining the reading rooms and the circulation department in the same area;
•	Making relevant and rare items physically more accessible, including digitization and access to digital editions:
o	Relevant, new and popular materials — in open access;
o	Duplicates and less popular materials — in overflow stock;
o	Long-storage literature and literature of low popularity — in the basic collection storage department;
•	Circulating the majority of publications (except cases stated in the Library terms of use);
•	Optimum combination of printed and electronic materials (including remote databases) in the user area;
•	Access to remote databases and digital libraries on the library’s server from user computers;
•	Reference and bibliographical services in user areas.

As young people’s interest gradually shifts towards digital resources, a special emphasis should be placed on them. This means that the library should:
•	Develop its own digital databases and collections based on local publications and archive materials, including materials on young people’s issues, patriotic and local history materials;
•	Make use of Russian and foreign sociopolitical and humanities media databases (with electronic archives);
•	Make use of electronic library systems and e-libraries with books, modern college textbooks and educational materials, academic monographs, dissertations and abstracts on humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, jurisprudence and economics, as well as fiction (with a fragment copy function for students’ personal notes without copyright infringement in accordance with Part 4 of the Civil Code of Russia);
•	Make use of legal databases with a search function, where relevant materials can be copied and printed, to provide all-round legal support for a young person in his or her work, private and academic life (the library must provide access to media databases, legal databases, electronic library systems and e-libraries using the library’s IP address and allow visitors to work with those resources from their own laptops inside the library);
•	Gradually introduce e-books into library services: train librarians to find materials the user is interested in and record them onto his or her e-reader and/or mobile device suitable for reading e-books (copyright holders’ interests must not be infringed on in the process: for example, content must be protected against unauthorized copying by DRM – Digital Right Management);
•	Develop and make use of a collection of audiobooks, including classical and modern, Russian and foreign fiction, literature on history, philosophy, law, pedagogy and other subjects (as well as school and college curriculum books). An official permission from the copyright holders (e.g., publishers) to circulate audiobooks would be extremely useful.                

Technology

The principal duties of a public library serving young adults as regards technology are dictated by the specific nature of its target audience. As the library acquires the necessary means and resources, it should:
•	Give young users maximum independence when working with library resources and their own materials, which are allowed to be taken into the library premises, and when searching for bibliographic information;
•	Give young users an opportunity to work with library computers, copy machines, audio and video equipment of the same quality as they use outside the library;
•	Speed up the routine process of book circulation by providing “reader autonomy” when dealing with collections (this is made possible by RFID technology);
•	Remove restrictions on workplaces intended for work with printed resources and give users the opportunity to work with electronic resources (including remote databases) in all user areas.
To achieve those aims the library should – as financial resources become available – provide the users with:
•	Free wireless internet access that allows visitors to use their own mobile devices (laptops, netbooks, iPads, PDAs) in the library building;
•	Interactive kiosks with access to the electronic catalogue and printer to print out information about the publications the user is interested in;
•	Places where users can listen to audiobooks and watch video materials comfortably (individually or in groups);
•	Laptops and mobile reading devices that can be borrowed to use inside the library;
•	Copy machines that allow independent copying of users’ own materials;
•	Access to “technology of the past”: vinyl record players, cassette recorders, slide projectors;
•	Access to online e-book stores and assistance with buying and downloading e-books on users’ mobile devices;
•	Using contactless smart cards as library cards that not only allow users to enter the library but also identify them in RFID systems (in Moscow and Moscow region, for example, the so-called “social cards”, which many library visitors have, can act as such library cards);
•	Developing young users’ interest for rare printed books through open demonstrations of the process of creating bibliographic records in the electronic catalogue and digitization (scanning books).

Virtual communication

Nowadays every public library, especially one that serves young adults, must have an internet presence.
Therefore it is important that:
•	The library should have a website, a web portal, an information page;
•	The library should have a virtual reference service, virtual consultancy, electronic document delivery;
•	The library should have a strong presence in the “blogosphere”, the social media (Facebook, VK, YouTube, Twitter) to inform users and create user loyalty;
•	The library should have an opportunity to use the internet for videoconferences, online discussions, webinars, e-learning, live broadcasting of professional conferences and seminars.
If librarians want to communicate with the young adults constructively they must offer the most popular communication media: electronic newsletters, thematic blogs for readers, text messages, audio and video notifications about library events (podcasts); popular VoIP services such as Skype (voice communication via the internet: the latest updates allow multiple users to take part in videoconferences simultaneously).

Services

The list of library services grows and changes depending on young users’ current needs, the development of information technology and the publishing industry.
The compulsory minimum of services that a public library must deliver to all citizens including young adults is fixed by the Russian Federation Library Services Act.

The federal (municipal) assignment for libraries serving young adults usually includes the following types of service reported in the fundamental legal library document (Policy or Statute):
•	Planning and implementation of cultural, recreational, and educational activities;
•	Exhibitions and expositions;
•	Tours and lectures for library users;
•	Making the library interiors and documents from the collection available for photographing and filming (provided that copyright holders’ interests are not infringed upon) ; 
•	Copying materials from the library collection (taking into consideration the limitations defined by copyright laws);
•	Creating digital resources and providing access to them;
•	Planning and holding conferences, workshops, exhibitions and other social and cultural events in the library;
•	Developing and selling materials with cultural, educational, scientific information;
•	Food service for library visitors.

Types of service that attract and keep young library users:
•	Providing bibliographical, factual and other types of information online and offline;
•	Computer workstations for independent work;
•	Open and free-of-charge access to electronic databases, e-libraries and electronic library systems;
•	Free wireless internet access in the library building;
•	Providing information about young people’s issues, including professional and personal issues;
•	Maximum access to library resources and services via the internet: library websites, blogs, e-newsletters;
•	Individual and group psychological counseling and training;
•	Holding lectures and meetings with specialists, representatives of different professions, help with social adaptation and career advice;
•	Seminars and courses designed to help young adults develop information literacy, reading and search skills using printed and digital resources; foreign language courses;
•	Services for young people with disabilities, their parents and guardians, as well as those who cannot attend the library for some reason;
•	Opportunities to take part in club activities, exhibitions, lectures, workshops and other programmes and events at the library;
Libraries should note that if they charge fees for a large number of services, it may become a significant psychological and financial factor preventing young people from visiting the library.             

Public Events and Interest Groups

Libraries should place a priority on young adults’ real interests and needs while planning events and programmes. Librarians should take into account not only the problems of young people’s personality development reflected in the government policy towards young people and national cultural and educational programmes, but also the problems and needs of the local community. 
The main tasks the library faces while planning events and programmes are:
•	Helping young adults in social and professional adaptation;
•	Psychological support for a smooth transition to adulthood;
•	Creating an environment where talents, skills, and social ambitions can be developed;
•	Intellectual recreation and socialization for young adults.
The traditional forms of events are:
•	Booktalks, book reviews, presentations and discussions; 
•	Lectures and discussions about issues facing young people;
•	Meetings with writers, sports stars, actors, entrepreneurs, famous compatriots, i.e., people whose life, work or creativity can be interesting for young adults;
•	Theatrical performances and shows, street processions, flash-mobs;
•	Offline and online exhibitions of young adults’ artwork or research results (drawings, art objects, publications, audio and video materials);
•	Regular tours, Open Days, seminars for young people who are not library users yet;
•	Historical and literary expositions that are interesting for young adults (about the history of the PC, the history of printed books and e-books, culture and daily life of the previous decades);
•	Psychological training, role-playing games and business games;
•	Discussion clubs, interest groups, creative workshops;
•	Webinars, seminars, lectures, virtual tours of interesting places, videoconferences, competitions, quizzes;
•	Project discussion and selection in blogs and social media.

The following factors that can affect young adults’ interest for the library favorably should be considered:
•	As young people spend more and more time online, preferring online communication on the social media to real-life communication, it is the library’s mission to balance the situation and bring online interaction to the real world by inviting young people to the library building;
•	Libraries today can take on the role of a “safe space”, whereas establishments that offer commercial entertainment to young people cannot guarantee safety;
•	Librarians must understand that the task of counteracting negative developments amongst young people and the task of promoting positive communication and self-actualization are of equal importance but presuppose different ways of interacting with young people and different degrees of readiness to participate in programmes and events without compulsion;
•	There is no direct correlation between attending events in the library and coming to the library for bibliographic and information services, yet efforts must undoubtedly be made to turn event visitors into library users and to attract users to events;
•	Events organized by the library outside the library premises or online are increasingly popular with young adults, but it is important that they associate those events with the library and not only with the partner organizations or internet communities. 

Young Adult Involvement in Library Activities

Libraries initiating large-scale programmes and events for young adults should try to involve them at all stages — from planning to implementation and evaluation.
There are many different ways a library can encourage young people to participate in its work. It depends on the sociocultural situation in the region, young people’s needs and opinions, partner organizations, the library’s image in the eyes of young people, and other important factors that define the library’s policy. 
We recommend the following forms of young adult involvement, time-tested in Russian libraries and abroad:
•	Encourage young adults to participate voluntarily in the implementation of a library project along with library staff;
•	Support a young people’s initiative regarding hosting an event or starting a club or a programme they are interested in;
•	Involve the library in important community projects developed by young people’s social organizations (e.g. environmental);
•	Employ young professionals with ongoing projects previously carried out in other venues;
•	Encourage the most active young users to promote the library’s services in educational institutions and organizations located in the library service area, to volunteer at internet conferences, internet broadcasts, community and library user surveys;
•	Encourage young users to get involved in teen advisory boards (e.g. the director’s teen advisory board, the library’s young adult department board). 
There are different fields of application for volunteers in the library. For example, young people can take on the role of experts and give reasonable suggestions as to what they would like to see and have at the library. They can:
•	Take part in designing library interiors (develop the young adult space design portfolio, express their aesthetic preferences via online and offline surveys, help to create art installations inside the library and decorate the outer walls with graffiti);
•	Participate in collection development (volunteers can visit bookshops, book fairs and exhibitions, analyze online bookstores’ range of goods, set up a suggestion box where library users and library website visitors can post their comments and requests, survey their friends’, colleagues’ and classmates’ opinions and preferences). 
How young adults benefit from volunteering at the library:
•	They gain work experience in a team of professionals, learn to be part of a team;
•	Their interest in reading increases;
•	They have higher self-esteem;
•	They have a place for social and creative self-actualization.
How the library benefits:
•	It gains an opportunity to reach young people who do not use the library yet;
•	Young people know what their peers want to read, thus the library collection becomes more user-oriented;
•	The library gains new users: youth project participants, their friends and family;
•	Its image is improved;
•	Librarians become more familiar with young adults’ interests and needs; they become better qualified and gain experience of constructive communication with young adults. 

Serving People with Disabilities and Special Needs

To allow young people with disabilities that limit their access to libraries or people with special needs to exercise their rights, the library identifies places where they congregate and organizations that serve them (social security organizations, rehabilitation hospitals, military formations etc.) and establishes connections with them. It also collaborates with specialized libraries, special academic and educational institutions. 
The library’s mission regarding young people with disabilities is to develop resources, create a friendly atmosphere and use technology to provide free, unrestricted access to all library services. 
As extra funds and new technology become available libraries must do their best to ensure different user categories have the following opportunities:
Visitors with mobility impairments need:
•	A wheelchair ramp (with steps for the person who accompanies the disabled person) at the entrance;
•	Extra wide aisles and low shelves so that wheelchair users can reach all books in the open access area;
•	More space between desk legs so that visitors can work with books and computers directly from their wheelchair;
•	A special toilet with enough space to move around in a wheelchair, grab bars and other facilities;
•	A laptop stand for the wheelchair to work with books or a laptop;
•	A wheelchair stair climber;
•	Special keyboards and mice as well as virtual keyboards to facilitate text input for users with reduced manual dexterity;

Visually impaired visitors could benefit from:

•	A collection of audiobooks for users of all ages and levels of education: from classics and curriculum-related books to literature on psychology, law, philosophy etc.;
•	Spoken notifications of library services, literature, talking books available to this user category (on the library radio and on the website);
•	A system of transmitters and receiving devices with headphones to provide information about the library’s divisions and help users navigate the library;
•	A reading machine that scans printed books and reads out text in Russian, English and other languages and a speech synthesizer to help users read text from the computer monitor and use software;
•	An electronic magnifier that enlarges text to make it accessible to people with low vision.

Hearing impaired visitors could benefit from:
•	A collection of films with subtitles, including documentaries;
•	Signs on the floor and on the walls that show the way to different rooms and collections;
•	A collection of educational literature and e-books on sign language as well as educational videos that teach correct manual communication and verbal speech;
•	Free-of-charge (paid by the social security system) sign language interpreter at library events.

Young parents with disabled children could benefit from:

•	A collection of literature on the children’s needs, their education and social adaptation;
•	Receiving information (directly or via the social security system) about the library collection of literature on adaptation and rehabilitation of disabled children and teenagers;
•	A space where parents can discuss their children’s issues with each other and with psychologists, doctors and professionals that work with disabled children;
•	Library services at home and remote library services.

Young parents with babies and toddlers could benefit from:

•	Baby-changing facilities and an isolated space for breastfeeding;
•	A children’s room with a collection of books, animated films, toys and games, where children can stay, supervised by their parents or by a member of staff while the parents use the library.

Young people who have a limited command of the Russian language could benefit from:

•	Phrase books for the languages of the former USSR countries and other languages;
•	The multilingual (including Kazakh) Yandex keyboard and the Yandex translator to communicate with the receptionist on the first visit to the library;
•	If a significant portion of the population the library serves has a limited command of the Russian language, it is expedient to organize Russian language tuition, develop foreign-language collections, find free multilingual keyboards and dictionaries of the languages of the former USSR on the Internet and install them on library computers.

Conscript soldiers could benefit from:

•	An opportunity to join the library, select books they are interested in and order them using, for example, the electronic catalogue;
•	If coming to the library to pick up and return books is impossible, the library could arrange deliveries to military formations or a mobile library;
•	Public events organized in cooperation with the military.

Young people who are at risk for incurable diseases, face difficulties because of their sexual orientation, have family issues etc. need:

•	A tolerant attitude towards their issues;
•	A collection of literature that helps to adapt to their situation and reduce stress caused by other people’s hostility;
•	Psychologist’s counseling.

All categories of users with special needs and disabilities need: 

•	To receive information about library services for their user category, including via telephone voicemail;
•	A collection of literature, digital editions and video materials on legal defence and social security, education and employment;
•	A collection of links to websites and other resources on the subject of children with special needs, disabilities and other problems of special user categories, as well as information about state, municipal and non-governmental organizations related to these people’s needs;
•	Cooperation with the administration and staff of the abovementioned organizations in order to inform them of the library’s services for these user categories;
•	Systematic information about assistive technology for visually, hearing or mobility impaired people as well as manufacturers and distributors of assistive technology.

Staff

Librarians must understand that today’s young people reject the role of “object of education and upbringing”, they are not followers – on the contrary, they make their choices and decisions independently. They often use the word “modern” to talk about the library space, technology and resources, but describe library staff as “conservative”. It is no secret that changing librarians’ mentality and views can be more difficult than updating the library’s resources and bringing in new technology.

In a modern library, a librarian serving young people must demonstrate the following skills and competencies:
•	Professionalism (competence) that allows the librarian to find printed, digital or online sources of information based on even vague user requests;
•	Knowledge of all electronic and mobile devices, computer software that the library uses, social media and internet skills;
•	Knowledge of young people’s personal, professional and social development, respect and tolerance towards their opinions and world-view, cooperation skills;
•	The ability to keep up to date with young adults’ changing needs and interests that the library can serve and change practices and methodologies accordingly;
•	Knowledge of all media resources that interest young people, their preferences in reading, music and film, the range of youth subcultures;
•	Communication skills necessary to form relationships with other age groups in the library service area, for the benefit of young adults;
•	Advocating for young adults’ interests inside and outside the library;
•	Forming partnerships with organizations that can contribute to effective young adult library services, including mass media and online communities;
•	Critical assessment of their own achievements and continuous professional growth;
•	Using different methods to encourage young people to participate in library work;
•	Teamwork, administration and public speaking skills necessary to hold events and manage interest groups;
•	Knowing how to ensure visitors’ safety and manage emergencies.

A librarian serving youth should be: able to manage large amounts of information, honest, open, sociable, creative, diligent, nonbiased, capable of self-discipline, full of initiative and ready to cooperate, able to make decisions and tolerant of other people’s opinions. Serving young adults requires tolerance, empathy, a cool head and stress resistance, knowing how to control oneself and not to burn oneself out, being consistent and responsible, knowing how to evaluate the situation and collect feedback. To collaborate with other institutions librarians need to know how to work with partners, collect and convey information. 

A modern library serving young people must include young librarians on staff. Apart from library and information science graduates, libraries need graduates who studied other subjects – ranging from humanities to maths and technology – with basic library training. 

Library administrators should take into consideration the factors that motivate young professionals. These include: management appreciation and support; interesting work and the opportunity to be creative; self-actualization; good interpersonal relationships between colleagues, a friendly atmosphere in the office; fair salary; the library and its employees sharing the same interests; common values; public recognition; the library’s prestige; career opportunities and more. 

The advantages of working in a library are (starting with the most important for young people): access to information; communication with people; an opportunity for cultural and professional development; guaranteed social and economic stability; social security; an opportunity to do interesting work and be creative; an amicable climate in the workplace; continuous introduction of new technologies; developing and implementing programmes and events. 

Collaboration with Other Organizations

High-quality young adult library services require partnerships with other governmental and non-governmental organizations that serve young adults in the municipality. Libraries, with their resources and methodologies, are called upon to initiate working partnerships in the fields of culture, education and recreation for best results in young people’s professional and social adaptation.

Regular communication with social and legal services as well as services for employment, healthcare, young people’s issues etc. allows libraries to become aware of new trends in society, update their services and attract new young users. 

Schools, vocational schools and colleges are young adult libraries’ principal partners. Cooperation between public libraries and school and college libraries improves service for young adults. It is advisable to negotiate agreements in order to plan programmes and events together.

In collaboration with other cultural institutions a public library can plan and successfully implement book, music and film festivals, theatrical events, spectacular events in popular places.

Equally advantageous is cooperation with libraries abroad and participation in international projects organized by different countries’ library associations. 

Service Evaluation Parameters

To measure the effectiveness of young adult library services librarians need certain qualitative and quantitative criteria. The primary criteria for young adult services are the figures based on which the state (municipal) assignment to provide state (municipal) services is formed for the “subsequent allocation of subsidies to cover the expenses related to the provision of said services” (Article 78.1, part 1 of the Budget Code of the Russian Federation).

These include the following parameters: 

•	The dynamic of (a) changes in the size of the collection compared to the previous year, (b) increase in the number of updated bibliographic records in the card catalogues;
•	Fluctuation of the number of (a) registered users compared to the previous year, (b) library visits compared to the previous year;
•	Average waiting time for (a) materials from the library collection, (b) materials or copies thereof from other libraries on interlibrary loan;
•	Percentage of (a) visitors satisfied by the quality of services, (b) requests carried out. 

Libraries that have digital resources, automatization and computer technologies should also look at:

•	Growth of the electronic catalogue compared to the previous year;
•	Percentage of materials in the library collection that have a bibliographic description in the electronic catalogue;
•	Percentage of the library collection that has been digitized;
•	Increase in the number of (a) full-text digital documents produced by the library (e-library), (b) digitized documents compared to the previous year;
•	The library’s information resource access statistics.

When planning future services a library that serves young adults should consider the following service quality parameters:

•	Convenient opening hours;
•	Workplaces with computers for users;
•	Free wireless internet access;
•	A range of library services for special user groups (people with disabilities and special needs);
•	Increase in the number of event visitors;
•	Percentage of specialists with academic degrees that serve young people; professional training programmes for staff to teach them to serve young people;
•	The number of young adults volunteering at the library;
•	The number of library tours for potential users and the number of participants;
•	Increase in the number of visits to the library’s online resources (websites, blogs, virtual reference services, pages in the social media); the degree to which the library’s online presence is integrated into young users’ internet activity;
•	Increase in the number of clubs and interest groups that reflect young adults’ diverse interests;
•	The number of public appearances by library staff outside the library (in educational institutions, young people’s recreation camps, military formations, at professional seminars and conferences etc.);
•	Positive reviews of the library’s services in media publications, TV and radio programmes;
•	Young people’s positive comments about the library and its services in the social media.

It should be noted that while quantitative parameters in the form of numbers are used when the state (municipal) assignment for public libraries to provide state (municipal) services is produced, young adult services quality parameters may be both quantitative and qualitative. The latter may be obtained in the course of surveys (using questionnaires or interviews); through monitoring existing, potential and virtual users’ needs and interests; analyzing young people’s spontaneous opinions reflected in the social media or in print; establishing feedback from users. 

Planning and Promoting Services

To plan and promote services effectively two things are important: (a) information needed to make decisions, and (b) a clear understanding of the aims. The latter is based, on the one hand, on librarians’ knowledge of the different groups of young people, their range of needs and the reasons why they come to the library, and, on the other hand, on the understanding of the importance of different social problems that librarians will aim to solve in the near future. 

When setting aims, the library must make sure it can actually achieve them, which is a question of available material, technological and human resources. 

In order to stay on top of the market of informational, educational, cultural and recreational services for young people provided by different organizations, libraries must retain steady market positioning and find their unique niche in the market. 

That requires good knowledge of the market environment (organizations that provide services similar to those provided by the library; how the library can be different from them, what unique services it has to offer and in what way the conditions are more favourable compared to the competitors). 

Using statistical information about the population of the region, the number of schools and students, economic and social data obtained from different sources (including the library’s own research projects) the library can make well-thought-out plans and informed decisions concerning programmes and services for young adults. At the same time, the library must not forget young people who do not yet use the library and look for ways to approach them. 

Having identified the immediate aims for the development of young adult library services, libraries produce suggestions for the state (municipal) subsidies assignment and plan their current and forthcoming expenses. If efforts are concentrated on the selected aims, libraries do not have to waste their resources following many different courses at the same time. 

The library may set several goals but they need to be large and achievable. Best results are achieved when think goals, not programmes. Achieving goals, not the process of moving towards them, is the basis of any organization’s activity.

Promoting a library or informational service to young people can only be successful if the service and the way it is provided is really worth the users’ attention. 

Libraries that serve young adults already widely use both tried-and-tested and innovative promotion practices, including the following:

•	Developing a socialization space for young adults, where their interests are taken into account; creating an environment where they feel comfortable even when their visit is not directly related to books or reading;
•	Designing promotional materials that clearly reflect the library’s understanding and awareness of young people’s interests (sports, science, love, culture, fantasy, fashion, music, outstanding people’s lives);
•	Promotional practices that allow young librarians to make the most of their knowledge and talents (e.g. flashmobs, youth subculture festivals, intellectual tournaments) and share their enthusiasm and positive attitude towards the library with young visitors of the same age;
•	Placing advertisements where young people often congregate (cinemas, cafes, popular shops, educational institutions etc.);
•	Encouraging young people to take part in the development and distribution of promotional materials and in designing library interiors;
•	Posting the list of library services and the terms and conditions on the library website, blog, social media pages;
•	Using television, radio, social media, real advertising spaces, where the library acts together with other organizations;
•	Participation in conferences, seminars, round-table discussions held by other organizations, educational institutions to discuss topics that can encourage other participants of the event to use the library and its resources. 

Guidelines Implementation Mechanisms

•	Development of legal documents for library services for young adults.
•	Discussions of the problems of young adult library and information services at the Ministry of Culture board meetings, the committee for library services development of the State Duma, and regional parliaments.
•	Establishment of an Interdepartmental Young Adult Library and Information Services Council of the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education and Science, Federal Agency for Young People’s Issues, Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications, and the Ministry of Regional Development.
•	Development of a targeted federal programme to establish model young adult libraries in the regions.
•	Inclusion of public library sections in comprehensive federal, regional, interregional and municipal programmes in the sphere of culture, education and young people’s issues. 
•	Improving professional development programmes for young adult librarians as part of lifelong library training and introducing new courses: serving young adults in the library and dedicated library services for young adults.
•	Including dedicated young adult librarians on staff in municipal libraries;
•	Discussions of the fundamental problems of serving youth in the Russian Library Association sections;
•	Initiation of interregional methodological monitoring of libraries that serve young adults under the auspices of the Russian Library Association; identification of and support for innovative best practices.
•	Wider cooperation of RLA’s sections with foreign and international library associations, sections and societies in order to carry out projects together.
•	Publication of an electronic journal about the problems of young adult library and information services under the auspices of the RLA. 
•	Discussions of the problems of young adult library services in Russia in professional printed publications and other mass media. 
•	Organization of the Russian Convention for Young Librarians (every two years).
•	Development of a project for an illustrated young people’s magazine about libraries.