Angela Reynolds receives 2017 Bechtel Fellowship

CHICAGO — The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Special Collections and Bechtel Fellowship Committee have awarded the 2017 Louise Seaman Bechtel Fellowship to Angela Reynolds.

The Bechtel Fellowship is designed to allow qualified children’s librarians to spend a total of four weeks or more reading and studying at the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature, a part of the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida, Gainesville. The Baldwin Library contains a special collection of 85,000 volumes of children’s literature published mostly before 1950. The fellowship is endowed in memory of Louise Seaman Bechtel and Ruth M. Baldwin and provides a stipend of $4,000.

Angela Reynolds is the community engagement coordinator at Annapolis Regional Library in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, Canada. She will explore the story of “Little Red Riding Hood,” the many different variations published, and how the tale is presented to an audience of children in different time periods.  

“The committee was impressed by Ms. Reynolds' proposal and her ability to make an oft-studied topic fresh and engaging for the 21st Century. We have every confidence that her original research will be thorough and thoughtful and she will ground what she uncovers to the work of children’s librarians selecting ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ variations for storytime,” said Chair Rachel G. Payne.

“The opportunity to spend a whole month reading and examining the illustrations in children’s books is so enticing, that I am beyond thrilled with this award. I am looking forward to sharing my findings with others and telling Little Red’s story in our libraries; I also look forward to how this experience will deepen my understanding of children’s literature,” said Reynolds said.

“I am very excited to work with Angela Reynolds on this project. The Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature holds hundreds of illustrated versions from over two centuries, and the fellowship will enable Angela to discover the nuances of different editions so that she can creatively tell the history of this story to both children and adults,” said Suzan Alteri, curator, Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature.

ALSC, a division of the ALA, is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit ALSC’s website at www.ala.org/alsc.

The 2017 ALSC Special Collections and Bechtel Fellowship Committee includes:

Rachel G Payne, Chair, Brooklyn (New York) Public Library; Dr. Ramona Caponegro, Eastern Michigan University; Dr. Alpha Selene DeLap, St. Thomas School, Medina, Washington; Maria Dietrich; Angela Frederick, Metro Nashville (Tennessee) Public Schools; Dennis J. LeLoup, Avon (Indiana) Intermediate Schools; Jenny Schwartzberg, Newberry Library, Chicago; Robin P. Sofge Alexandria (Virginia) Public Library; Sylvia G. Tag Western Washington University.