Cultivating Strong Girls

Book excerpt: An essential "how-to" book for youth services librarians who are interested in effecting social change and offering a dynamic, relevant program for girls. Cultivating Strong Girls: Library Programming That Builds Self-Esteem and Challenges Inequality gives youth services librarians practical guidance on how to offer programming that will support the engagement, growth, and achievement of girls. The program plans are simple enough to be applied by everyone who works with girls. Presenting this type of programming allows librarians to build meaningful relationships, have a positive impact on patrons and in the community, and follow programming guidelines outlined in the Young Adult Library Services Association's report, "The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action." With gender bias, inequality, and low self-esteem issues still at the forefront for women and girls, public library programming that addresses these topics fills a genuine need. This step-by-step guide to running a "Strong Girls School" program supplies material broken down into six sessions. Detailed yet easy-to-follow instructions and tips ensure that the program can be implemented in libraries or classrooms. Written by an experienced young adult librarian who has tested and refined these strategies in the real world, the book offers direction for related crafts, recommended resources, and extension activities, including peer mentoring or community service opportunities.