Library Services to Children and Young People

Revised statement adopted by the Council of the New Zealand Library & Information Association, March 17,1995.
Library services to children and young people must:

1. Provide the range of materials in appropriate formats that will enrich, support and develop the interests, information and leisure needs of the children and young people in the communities they serve. The curriculum needs of students are the chief focus and responsibility of the school library. These needs are supplemented by the more general resources of the public library.
2. Provide materials, especially fiction and creative writing, to stimulate and develop appreciation of the use of language.
3. Provide materials on all points of view on current and historical issues, chosen for sound presentation and appropriate levels of understanding, so that children and young people may develop critical thinking and make informed judgements.
4. Provide services and collections that ensure a commitment to biculturalism and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
5. Provide materials representative of the various religious, ethnic and cultural groups in society.
6. Ensure comprehensive collections appropriate to the clients of the library, avoiding personal bias or sectional interest.
7. Make the whole collection freely available and equally accessible, without charge, and without arbitrary discrimination, to the group it serves.
8. Provide professional service, knowledge and understanding to all clients.
9. Use professional discretion in protecting the confidentiality of dealings between the library and its clients, in accordance with the statutory provisions of the country.
10. Make their facilities for exhibitions and meetings available on an equitable basis, consistent with the purposes of the libraries themselves