THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23591, 30 August 1938, Page 5

THE SCHOOL LIBRARY

PROBLEMS DISCUSSED ADDRESS TO SCHOOL TEACHERS School library practice in New Zealand and America, and contemporary children’s books, were the two main topics discussed on Friday, at a special library meeting of primary school teachers arranged by the Otago Education Board. The meeting was held in the Dunedin Technical iligh School. Mr T. A. Morland and Air J. H. M. Finlayson, of the primary school inspectorate, were in the chair during the morning and afternoon respectively. The speaker was Miss Dorothy Neal, children’s librarian of the Dunedin Public Library, In a brief survey of modern juvenile literature the speaker said that the American publishers had reached a high standard of production, especially in the little children’s field. Frontrank illustrators were now working on picture books and easy reading material. Children’s books now covered an extremely wide range of knowledge. For instance, on architecture there were picture books to interest seven-year-olds, and also comparatively advanced books for the upper standards. Simple books on music, describing its evolution from the drum to the modern symphony orchestra: travel books on Iceland, Denmark or Soviet Russia; biographies of Fabre, the French naturalist, Haydn, Paste Ur—all these are actualities in the children’s book field.

At the afternoon session on school library practice, the speaker described a typical day in an American school library. The i library was always housed in a separate room, in charge of a teacher whose sole responsibility was that library. It was customary to bring classes into the library to investigate and do reference work for themselves. Lessons were also given on the use of books and libraries. Skilful use of encyclopaedias and reference books obviously demands a certain amount of technique. Children were trained as early as possible in this skilful use of books: they were given that essential weapon of democracy, the power to become informed. The perfect school library could become the school powerhouse, of to change the metaphor, a mental laboratory. In conclusion, the speaker outlined an imaginary blueprint for New ■ Zealand school library service. New Zealand could be divided into school library districts which would be identical with the Education Board districts. Library practice in each district would be the same in essentials, so that a teacher transferring from Southland to North Auckland could expect the same type of library service in each place. Coordinating the work of ail districts would be a central school library division in Wellington, which would bring out a standard catalogue of children’s books for New Zealand schools and issue monthly lists of the latest books with critical annotations so that schools could be aware of developments in the junior book publishing world. In the centre of each education district there would be a model collection of juvenile books so that teachers in the surrounding area could make personal examinations of all books. Larger schools would maintain practically independent libraries in charge of teachers whose sole responsibility such a library would be. Smaller schools would receive main collections of books such as now were arranged under the Otago Education Board’s plan, except that country schools in larger centres would have large independent libraries similar to those in larger city schools. A feature of the whole scheme would be that the lower standards and primers would be provided with picture books and easy reading material, as well as the upper standards. Special sets of books would be distributed in connection with museum lectures, and new authors would be introduced to children via the School Journal.

Proposing a vote of thanks to the speaker, Mr A. Hanna, headmaster of Kensington School, said that while Miss Neal had stressed the fact, that her scheme was an excursion-of the imagination, he felt that it was very practicable and seemed the logical development of the library plan which the Otago Education Board had recently worked out.

In connection with the two lectures a display, of children’s books was arranged, with a special emphasis on attractive non-fiction titles from both English and American bouses. Special displays were books on music, architecture, travel, the historical novel and books for younger children.