第63章 VALUES IN LIBRARY WORK WITH CHILDREN(4)

Through the recognition of the principle that there are methods of book appeal for use with individual children and other methods for groups of children,it was shown that the organization of the work as a whole must be such that the chief methods of presentation of literature could be fully developed.It was seen that,far less with a group of children than with the individual child,could we afford to give a false experience or an unfruitful interest,and that material for group presentation,methods of group presentation and the social elements which are evinced in groups of children should receive an amount of attention and study which would lead to the surest and soundest results.This could be fully accomplished only by recognizing such methods as distinct functions of the department.In other words,that there should not only be divisions of work with children according to problems of book distribution,such as by schools and home libraries,but there must be of necessity,divisions by problems of reading.Whereas,in a smaller department all divisions would center in the head,the volume of work in a large library renders necessary the appointment of an instructor in story-telling and a supervisor of reading clubs,which results in a higher specialization and a greater impetus for these phases of work than one person can accomplish.Here we have a concrete instance of the benefit that a large volume of work may confer upon the individual child.

With the attainment of better reading results and higher standards for the workers,it is obvious that the reading experiences of the children and the standards of the workers must be conserved,and that the organization should protect the children,as far as possible,from the disadvantage of change of workers.Considerable study has been given to this,and yearly written reports on the reading of children in each children's room are made,in which variations from accepted standards of the children's reading in that library,with individual instances,are usually discussed.However,the children's librarian is entirely free to report the subject from whatever angle it has impressed her most.Also a written report is made of the story hour,the program,general and special results,and intensity of group interest in certain types of stories.This report is supplementary to a weekly report in prescribed form,of the stories told,sources used and results.All programs used with clubs are reported and semi-annual report made of the club work as a whole.By discussion and reports back to individual centers,these become bases for a wider vision of work and a wiser direction of energy with less experimentation.

The connection between work with children and the problem of the reading of intermediates,referred to in the beginning,should not be dismissed in a paragraph.However,it is only possible to give a short statement of it.Recognizing that the reading of adult books should begin in the children's room,a serious study of adult books possible for children's reading was made by the children's librarians,the reports discussed and the books added to the department as the result.A second report of adult titles which children and intermediates might and do read was called for recently and from that a tentative list had been furnished to both adult and children's workers for further study.The increasing number of workers in the children's department who have had general training,and in the adult work who have had special training for work with children make such reports of much value.In order to follow the standards of children's work,there is one principle which is obvious,namely,a book disapproved as below grade for juveniles should not be accepted for general intermediate work.This is especially true of books of adventure which a boy of any age between 12and 18would read.

In conclusion,the chief means of determining values in library work with children are these:An intensive study of the reading of children in relation to its social and informational worth to them;the right basis of education and training for such study,on the part of the workers;the direction of such study in a way that brings about a higher and more practical standard on the part of the worker;the conservation of her experience.These are the great services which the library may render children and they can be most fully accomplished,I believe,through departmental organization.