As we become seasoned youth services librarians, it’s natural for our professional confidence and expertise around things like child development, children’s books, and summer learning to grow. At some point, we may feel like we’ve arrived! We are now ready to dole out ALL the brilliant advice! (I don’t know about you, but I can be an insufferable advice-giver. Just ask my family!)
A Deficits-Based Approach
And isn’t advice-giving sort of built into our jobs as librarians? When we work on the reference desk or the public service floor, we are there under the assumption that people will have problems for us to fix. Small problems (not finding the right book) and monumental problems (food and housing insecurity among a family of regulars) cross our paths daily. No fear! We have tools in our Super Librarian belts and resources to share!
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
But if we position ourselves as superheroes, doesn’t it follow that we assume library users are victims who need saving? Despite our best intentions, this deficits-based assumption can subtly suggest to families that we do not value their inherent worth and potential.
When organizations act as experts on resolving the problems of people, we deny and limit those particular individuals facing the problem the opportunity to explore what strengths and capacities they might have in the process of exploring, participating, taking control and learning (Herman-Stahl & Petersen, 1996).
A New, Strengths-Based Approach
Applying a strengths-based approach to customer service can have powerful outcomes for you and your library. A strengths-based approach:
- Assumes that all people have strengths, expertise, and potential
- Promotes a relationship of trust between library staff and customers
- Allows us to learn side-by-side with our customers
- Takes the pressure off us to be experts
- Recognizes that dominate cultural and organizational assumptions can limit the growth of individuals, families and communities
So, how might youth services librarians apply this strengths-based approach? The most important first step is simple in concept and enormously challenging in practice—we can change our attitudes and assumptions about the families in our libraries. This takes practice, and you might have to fake it to make it at first. But gradually, applying strengths-based assumptions will start to become more natural… and you may even find yourself feeling more optimistic about working in public service.
Here are some familiar library scenarios with examples of how applying strengths-based assumptions might positively change our interactions with families:
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A mother texts on her phone while her two young kids run around the library.
- Deficits-based assumption: This is an inattentive parent who needs to be informed of our rules surrounding unsupervised children.
- Strengths-based assumption: This mother is a competent person who knows more than I do about her children. There may be complicated reasons behind her decision to use her phone rather than pay close attention to her children in this moment. How can we partner with this parent to make sure her children are safe in the library?
Image courtesy of Creative Commons
A parent insists that his son, a reluctant reader, must read high level books and stay away from graphic novels and “easy books”.
- Deficits-based assumption: This parent doesn’t understand the importance of reading motivation and only cares about getting his child into the best university.
- Strengths-based assumption: This father loves his son and wants the best for him. There may be cultural or other factors influencing his parenting decisions and beliefs. How can we have a non-judgmental conversation with this father starting with the assumption that he is the expert when it comes to his family’s well-being?
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During Stay & Play, a mother mentions she’s worried that her 18-month-old isn’t playing well with other kids.
- Deficits-based assumption: This parent doesn’t know much about child development, so she would benefit from learning about parallel play and being assured that her that her child’s behavior is normal.
- Strengths-based assumption: Whether or not this parent is familiar with child development theory, she is an expert when it comes to her child. Instead of positioning ourselves as authorities on child development, how can we use this interaction with the parent to build a partnership around the child? What open-ended questions can we ask to draw out the parent’s expertise before offering advice?
This strengths-based approach can also be a powerful tool for youth services managers to use when working with staff. Staff members who feel acknowledged, valued, and heard will be more likely to extend the same courtesy to the public!
Madeline Walton-Hadlock is the Early Education Manager at the San José Public Library and a member of the ALSC Managing Children’s Services Committee. You can reach her at [email protected]
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