第62章 VALUES IN LIBRARY WORK WITH CHILDREN(3)

While those books which are no longer used may have been at one time necessary to hold a child from reading something poorer,we did not lose children through raising the standard,and the duplication of doubtful books in the children's room is less heavy now than it was a few years ago.This is shown by the fact that there are more than twice as many children who are reading,and almost three times as many books being read as there were nine years ago,while the number of children of the city has increased but 72per cent.Furthermore,the proportion of children of environmental limitations has by no means diminished,and the foreign population is much the same--more than 74per cent.

Of course,the elimination of some books was accomplished because there were better books on the subject,but the general result was largely brought about because in the establishment of these higher standards we did not exceed the ideals and standards of those who were working with the children.The standards which they brought to the work,and which they deduced themselves from their experience,were crystalized through Round Table discussion,where each worker measured her results by those of the others and thereby recognized the need of constant,but careful experimentation.

Experience has proved that a children's department can not reach standards of reading which in the judgment of librarians working with the children are beyond the possibility of attainment,for with them rests entirely the delicate task of the adjustment of the book to the child.A staff of children's librarians of good academic education,the best library training,a true vision of the social principles;a broad knowledge of children's literature is the greatest asset for any library doing children's work.

But it is true,inversely,that in raising the standards of the children the standards of the workers were raised.By this I mean that with definite methods of book presentation in use,the worker saw farther into the mental and material life of the child and understood his social instincts better.This has been evidenced in the larger duplication of the better books.Among the methods are those which recognize group interest and group association as a social need of childhood.Through unifying and intensifying the thoughts and sympathies of the children by giving them great and universal thought in the story hour,the mediocre is often bridged and both the child and the worker reaches a higher plane of experience.Also by giving children a group interest,not only children recognize that books may be cornerstones for social intercourse and that there is connection between social conduct as expressed in books and their own social obligations,but what is also important,the worker learns that when children are at the age of group activity and expression they can often be more permanently influenced as a group than as individuals.This prompted the organization of clubs for older children.