OPENING A CHILDREN'S ROOM.
(See[ p. 83.])
The discussion was opened by Henry J. Carr, who said:
I cannot say why I was selected to discuss Miss Hunt's paper, unless because I was known to her and somewhat familiar with her work and the particular children's room fitted up under her direction in the new building of the Newark Free Public Library.
I am so much in sympathy with Miss Hunt's views as expressed in the paper, and regard them as so correct that I can do little but emphasize the points she has brought out. She has been eminently wise in presenting for consideration some of the proper guiding principles of the children's room, something that is too often lost sight of in the attitude taken by those responsible for their establishment and operation.
We should not look upon the children's room as a "kindergarten," or playground for the younger children, so much as a stepping-stone to tide them along to the reading of books adapted to more mature minds, and hence to "graduate" them out of it as fast as possible. It has also a purpose, which is a further reason for retaining in this room, more or less, an aspect similar to that of the adults' rooms. Parents to some extent come to select reading matter for their children, and those of mature years but immature minds may drift into this department, if it is not made too juvenile in tone and appearance. Hence, I prefer the name Young People's Library to that of Children's Room. I have seen boys stand aloof at first for fear of ridicule for going into the room "for kids." I prefer to have the discharging of books done at one main desk, as it keeps the children in touch with adults and gives all ages more freedom in drawing from all departments. Hence we have no special juvenile cards. I should advise to include on the children's shelves good books for older readers; to avoid sets or the writings of voluminous authors, as a rule; and to aim to seek the writers of those good books that are apt to be overlooked. Discipline and good order should be maintained at the outset, and after that the children should be let alone, so far as possible. They like to have a chance to inform one another; those becoming first familiar with the room and its methods will only too gladly induct newcomers into its operation.
Mrs. M. A. Sanders said:
The librarian from Newark speaks from experience, for hers is an ideal children's room, both in equipment and administration. At the dedication of the library the interest centered largely around that department. Her interest in the children and their work, so ably expressed, carried me back to the early 80's, when, as some of us remember, scarcely a round dozen libraries could be found where children were admitted. On one side of the door we saw a placard reading, "Children not admitted under 14 years"; on the other, "Dogs not allowed." A strong appeal was made at that time at the Thousand Island meeting for children's rights in the public library by a librarian who was making a specialty of work with children, and admitted them without an age limit. Glorious has been the response, for the library that makes no provision for the children to-day is the exception.
At Pawtucket we open our children's rooms and bid them welcome, we open our shelves, and their judgment in the selection of books often equals our own. We decorate the walls with pictures that appeal to the affections, we send them into the homes, and by and by we see an entire family gathered around the table deeply interested in the pictures and the description of them as they read from the books brought home by the children. We put in our cases of birds, which the children delight to study, and soon a mother says to us, "I never thought much about the birds till the children began to talk about them, but we have been out every morning listening for the new calls as the birds appear in the spring." In these and various other ways we see the influence of the children's room, which is broadening every day.
There is, however, many a library where the children's room has not yet materialized, either from lack of space or funds, that is exerting a powerful influence through its children, and I question sometimes whether it may not be a mistake to draw too sharp a line of separation. Where should we draw our line? At just what age do girls and boys cease to be children? That has been for me a serious question; I wonder if you have escaped it, and if the children's room solves it.