the introduction of extension activities (Ray 1983:44). Later, other children’s libraries
were established along the same lines, including, in 1965, La Joie par les Livres in the
Paris suburb of Clamart; this became a focal point for the belated development of
children’s libraries throughout France.
After the Second World War, the establishment of a specialist section for children’s
librarians within the International Federation of Library Associations enabled librarians
working with children in countries around the world to meet together to discuss matters
of common concern.
The Special Contribution of Children’s Librarians to Children’s
LiteratureDuring the first half of the twentieth century, librarians were the pre-eminent
professional experts on children’s literature, having both a good knowledge of the books,
and skills to promote them to children, both within and outside libraries. This expertise
was acknowledged by publishers and booksellers, and later came to be valued by
parents and teachers, as groups and courses were set up to improve awareness of
children’s reading materials.
The high standard of work by early librarians such as Anne Carroll Moore ensured a
substantial market for quality children’s books, which were bought in large quantities,
the bigger public library systems usually providing at least one copy of approved titles to
each branch library, and supported high-quality backlists. It is significant, in Britain for
example, that the ‘second golden age’ of children’s literature in the late 1960s coincided
with a rapid expansion in both school and public libraries, while the decline in hardback
publishing for young adults coincided with the decline in public library spending in the
late 1980s.
Librarians, from Caroline M.Hewins, ‘compiler of one of the first authoritative
booklists for children, Books for Boys and Girls’ (Meigs 1969:385) onwards have been
enthusiastic producers of recommended books, locally and nationally, and have written
significant books about children’s literature, such as Dorothy Neal White’s About Books
for Children (1946), Lillian H.Smith’s The Unreluctant Years (1953), Marcus Crouch’s
Treasure Seekers and Borrowers (1962) and Mary Thwaite’s From Primer to Pleasure in
Reading.
Courses in children’s librarianship, which included the study of children’s literature,
were established in the USA early in the twentieth century; in Britain, the Library
Association offered a qualification in children’s librarianship which required extensive
knowledge of children’s books, for some years before including children’s literature as an
optional paper in the Fellowship Examinations in the 1950s. When a two-year full-time
course leasing to the Registration examination of the Library Association was
established in 1964, the syllabus included optional papers in both children’s literature
and librarianship; these proved to be very popular and during the 1960s and early
1970s hundreds of librarians graduated from these courses with a good working
knowledge of children’s literature. Such courses preceded by some years courses on
children’s literature for trainee teachers or in literature degree courses.
610 APPLICATIONS OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE