Summer at the Library: A Shining Star in the Confidence Constellation

Abstract

Growing research shows a crisis in our youth’s confidence and a marked increase in stress and anxiety.1 Summer at the library is vital for addressing opportunity gaps in learning and fostering interest-driven reading and learning, but what about the critical role library programs play in helping youth become confident learners? As youth services library staff build, deliver, evaluate, and advocate for summer programs, an essential aspect of summer programming should be the deliberate focus on building confidence in young people. In a time that has exploded as that of the “anxious generation,2” building confidence can help children flourish.