Caroline Parr• Coordinator of Youth Services, Central

Rappahannock Regional Library, 2001-present

• Coordinator of Children’s Services, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, 1988-2001

• Head, Central Children’s Room, Arlington County Department of Libraries, 1981-1988

• Chair, Newbery Award Committee (2001) and Sibert Award Committee (2008)

• Member, Caldecott Committee (2006)• President, Virginia Library Association,

1996• M.L.S, Simmons College• B.A, Tufts University

Coordinator of Youth Services

• Provides leadership for youth services (for children and teens) throughout the library system

• Provides youth services training for staff

• Oversees planning and development of programming for youth

• Maintains partnerships with local agencies serving youth

Coordinator of Children’s Services

• From 1988 to 2001, our library had separate coordinators in charge of service to children and to teens.

• Consolidating these positions into one ensures that one person is overseeing services to the entire range of young people. It’s been a good move for us and is quite common now in many libraries.

Head, Central Children’s Room

• This library in Arlington, Virginia, is located just outside Washington, DC.

• In this position I worked with the branch manager of our largest library and with the Coordinator of Children’s Services for the library system.

• I supervised other librarians and delivered programs and services to children.

• This job was excellent preparation for my position as Coordinator at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.

Award committee work

• The American Library Association sponsors the oldest children’s book award in the world, the Newbery Award for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

• Serving on one of these committees is an honor, and I was thrilled to be chosen.

• As chair of the 2001 committee, I worked with 14 other librarians around the country.

• We read hundreds of books and discussed them before choosing our winner.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck, the story of a girl and her grandmother during the Depression of the 1930s.

The Sibert Award

• This is another American Library Association Award, this one for the most distinguished nonfiction book for young people.

• Our committee chose an autobiographical picture book about an artist growing up behind the Iron Curtain in the 1960s.

• Peter Sís now lives in New York City and has written many other award-winning picture books for children.

The Wall by Peter Sís

The Caldecott Award

• This is an award given since 1938 to the most distinguished American picture book for children.

• Our winner, chosen by our committee of 15 librarians from more than 600 eligible books, was a wordless story about a boy who finds a magical camera washed up on the beach.

Flotsam by David Wiesner

President, Virginia Library Association

• This is the state-wide organization that supports librarians of all types.

• Approximately 1200 librarians are members, from public, academic and special libraries around Virginia.

• In 1996 I was elected president and was honored that I as a children’s librarian was representing the association.

• We had a few book challenges that year and I was able to speak in support of intellectual freedom and free access to materials.

Education

• I received my undergraduate degree in English, then received my graduate degree in Library Science.

• Like all of us, I continue to attend workshops, webinars and conferences to keep up with new technologies and services to youth in libraries.