Teen volunteers and community service programs

Chelton, Mary K., editor. Excellence in Library Services to Young Adults, second edition. American Library Association, 1997.

Youth participation is a theme that runs through the fifty exemplary library programs described here.

Ellis, Susan J., Anne Weisbord, and Katherine H. Noyes. Children as Volunteers, revised edition. Energize Associates, 1991.

A practical handbook for managing very young volunteers.

Hoose, Phillip. It's Our World, Too! Stories of Young People Who are Making a Difference. Little, Brown, 1993.

A guide for young activists.

Jones, Patrick. Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, second edition. Neal-Schuman, 1998.

A source for much practical information about every aspect of library service to teens, including youth participation.

Lewis, Barbara. What Do You Stand For? A Kid's Guide to Building Character. Free Spirit, 1997.

Although this book was intended for young people, it is a wonderful resource for adults who supervise teen volunteers. You will find training and learning activities as well as case studies and inspirational background material.

Seidman, Anna, and John Patterson. Kidding Around? Be Serious! A Commitment to Safe Service Opportunities for Young People. Nonprofit Risk Management Center, 1996. (Available for order through Energize, Inc.)

Covers risk and liability issues associated with underage volunteers.

Thomas, Rob. Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad. Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Ten interrelated stories for young adults about the experience of doing 200 hours of required community service.

Van Linden, Josephine A., and Carl I. Fertman. Youth Leadership: A Guide to Understanding Leadership Development in Adolescents. Jossey-Bass, 1998.

A guide for developing leadership skills in teens.

Walter, Virginia A. Output Measures and More: Planning and Evaluating Public Library Services for Young Adults. American Library Association, 1995.

This handbook tells how to involve young adults as volunteer participants in a library's planning process and how to measure their involvement as volunteers in all kinds of library programs.

Youniss, James, and Miranda Yates. Community Service and Social Responsibility in Youth. University of Chicago Press, 1997.

Uses a case study from an inner city high school in Washington, D.C. to show how volunteering in a soup kitchen helped disadvantaged teens see themselves as active agents in society.

Youth Participation in School and Public Libraries: It Works. American Library Association, 1995.

Everything you need to know about starting and managing youth participation programs.