The New Precarity of Teen Librarianship Anthony Bernier, Project Director, YouthFacts.org | June 2026 Young adult (YA) librarianship emerged as an act of defiance – unapologetically asserting that professional service required distinct skills and focus. In 1978, Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), founded in response to prevailing dismissive attitudes about teenagers and librarianship, advocated how the
Going Public “For Real” Anthony Bernier, Project Director, YouthFacts.org | March 2026 White young people just walked in the front door of the Greenville, South Carolina, main library in 1959. Not so for 18 year old Jesse Jackson (1941-2026). The books Jackson wanted to read during his freshman Christmas break from University of Illinois took
Librarians Punch Down on Teenagers By Anthony Bernier | October 2023 How can I continue doing this work? I teach future librarians about serving teenagers professionally and equitably. People find it odd that librarians need this teaching. The behaviors of national library leaders, though, demonstrate they do. The hottest issue in libraries today pits libraries
