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A Child’s Library, circa 1902

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Shortly after I learned that I would be the new Children’s & Interlibrary Loan Librarian at the NYSL, Head Librarian Mark Bartlett kindly lent me his personal copy of H.B. Wheatley’s How to Form a Library. Having trained to be a Children’s Librarian, I found chapter eight to be an amusing study, as it focused upon the foundation of a “Child’s Library” proper for 1902. 

In spite of the century that has passed since its publication, much of what Wheatley proposes still holds true today. I particularly agree with his sentiments that children (well, actually he says “boys”) are “much more likely to enjoy and find benefit from the books” that they pick out for themselves and also that “it is scarcely fair when children are working hard at school all day that they should be made to read so-called instructive books in the evening. They have earned the right to relaxation and should be allowed good novels.”

Wheatley also remarks upon how reading becomes a nostalgic act when one experiences “a thrill of pleasure” upon becoming re-acquainted with “a book which amused his childhood.” Certainly, this is the case for many of our present members, who fondly recall their younger years spent here and seek to provide the same positive experience for both their children and the generations that follow. 

It should come as little surprise that the NYSL has more than half of the short list of titles appropriate for a Child’s Library, circa 1902. Originally published in a late-19th-century edition of Woman’s Journal, later quoted in Library Journal, and ultimately excerpted in Wheatley's book, the list includes:

Aikin, John. Evenings at Home, or, The Juvenile Budget Opened: Consisting of a Variety of Miscellaneous Pieces, for the Instruction and Amusement of Young Persons (1797)

Baker, Charlotte Alice. Summer in the Azores, with a Glimpse of Madeira (1882)

cover of Pilgrim's ProgressBunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress (originally published 1678)
Wheatley states that this treasure “will always have as great a fascination for the young as it must have for their elders; but there is much preaching in it which must be skipped, or the attention of the hearers will flag.”

Burnand, F.C. The New History of Sandford and Merton: Being a True Account of the Adventures of "Masters Tommy and Harry," with Their Beloved Tutor, "Mr. Barlow” (1872)
Wheatley writes that Sandford and Merton is “usually considered as hopelessly out of date,” but this comment actually refers to Thomas Day’s original work (which we do not hold), whereas Burnand’s publication was a parody of Day’s publication.

Clarke, Rebecca Sophia. Little Prudy (originally published 1870)cover of Little Prudy's Story Book
The
Library Journal editor of the list remarked, “the ‘Prudy’ children are so mischievous, so full of young Americanisms, and so far from being ‘wells of English undefiled,’ that they are not always good companions for boys and girls. I have known a child’s English spoiled by reading the Prudy books!”

Coffin, Charles Carleton. Boys of ’76: A History of the Battles of the Revolution (originally published 1899)

Dickens, Charles. A Child’s History of England  (1852-54)
We have several circulating copies of this title as well as the original rare ones.
cover of Child's History of England

Dodge, Mary Mapes. Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates (originally published 1865)

Edgeworth, Maria. The Parent’s Assistant, or Stories for Children (originally published 1796)

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls (originally published 1851)

Jackson, Helen Hunt. Bits of Talk About Home Matters (1873)

Lamb, Charles & Mary. Tales from Shakespeare (orig. published 1807)

Scudder, Horace Elisha. Doings of the Bodley Family in Town and Country (originally published 1876)

Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels (originally published 1726)

Wheatley feels that this title “is very unsuited for children, although often treated as a child’s book.”

Whittier, John Greenleaf. Snow-bound: A Winter Idyl (originally published 1866)

At the conclusion of this list, Wheatley also remarks that “no child’s library should be without a good collection of Fairy Tales, a careful selection of the Arabian Nights, or Robinson Crusoe.” The NYSL has both of these latter titles in a few different editions and the 398-398.2 section of the Children’s Library is overflowing with a great variety of folklore and fairy tales

Toward the end of this short chapter, Wheatley comments that “practical experience” will be the best guide to determining “what children will like.” This philosophy holds true today, as the Children’s Librarians carefully research each new addition for our collection in the hopes that in another century, many of these titles will continue to grace our shelves. 

Finally, I will close by mentioning that although the NYSL does not own a copy of Wheatley’s How to Form a Library, we do have other books by him, including How to Make an Index. If you become desperate to examine this chapter and the others in Wheatley’s Library study, I would be happy to borrow it for you via our Interlibrary Loan program.

 

 

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