In consultation with library practitioners, Their Reading Futures has put together a list of core skills for reader development work with children and young people. All staff working in public libraries meet with children and teenagers - and will need most, if not all, of these skills.

The skills are grouped as follows:

Treating People Well
Making the Library Welcoming
Knowing about the Books
Helping Young Readers Develop
Involving and Consulting Young People

Treating People Well

Number	Description
A1	Being an approachable and knowledgeable friend to young people; relating to them with understanding and confidence
A2	Listening well and knowing when to make suggestions for young people's reading
A3	Talking with young people about their reading with respect and without judgement; treating them as individuals and as equals
A4	Understanding something about young people's interests and culture which may affect their reading choices
A5	Uderstanding the likely areas of interest/concern for parents about their children's reading
A6	Being able to use a range of methods to involve young people in shaping library services

Making the Library Welcoming

Number	Description
B1	Looking at the library from the viewpoints of young people, and parents and carers; setting it out to respond to and meet these viewpoints as far as possible
B2	Making sure that the whole library space looks welcoming and cared for: eg. Furniture and toys clean and in good repair; posters tidy and up-to-date; comfortable and appealing areas for young people
B3	Creating appropriate and clearly defined spaces in the library for different age groups - eg. young children; teenagers
B4	Knowing about making the library a safe place for young people
B5	Creating a relaxing and informal environment for young people to enjoy
B6	Making sure that stock is in good physical quality and attractive to borrow
B7	Arranging stock so that the whole collection looks attractive and each section is easy to access
B8	Making special displays of stock to excite and inspire reading
B9	Arranging activities for all young people to enhance and inspire reading and the use of the library as a community venue
B10	Knowing about making contacts with the community which will extend use and awareness of the library
B11	Ensuring that young people find it easy and appealing to join the library

Knowing about the Books

Number	Description
C1	Knowing about the stock you have in your library in relation to young people's reading
C2	Knowing how to access materials which young people want which aren't in stock in your library
C3	Knowing something about young people's books: favourites, new books, books for different ages and interests, books on TV and in the news
C4	Knowing how to access interesting and appropriate resources for young people over the Internet
C5	Asking young people for book recommendations and involving them in stock selection

Helping Young Readers Develop

Number	Description
D1	Becoming practised at talking with young people and knowing different ways to open up discussion with them about reading
D2	Knowing ways to help and tempt young people to try different books, explore different kinds of reading
D3	Becoming practised at prompting, supporting and encouraging peer reading recommendations and discussions
D4	Knowing ways to support adult/child sharing of books and reading
D5	Knowing something about how books and sharing stories help young people in their language development and learning to read