New ALSC wiki records Special Collections in Children's Literature
Contact: Laura Schulte-Cooper
312-280-2165
lschulte@ala.org
For Immediate Release
June 18, 2007
New ALSC wiki records Special Collections in Children’s Literature
CHICAGO - The Association for Library Service to Children’s (ALSC) Committee on National Planning of Special Collections in Children's Literature recently created the Special Collections in Children’s Literature Wikiography at wikis.ala.org/alsc to provide an easily-accessible clearinghouse with helpful information about special collections, typically used by scholarly researchers studying children and/or their literature.
The wikiography currently lists 14 such collections. Among those included are: the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, which holds the original manuscripts and illustrations of more than 1,200 authors and illustrators, as well as 100,000+ published books dating from 1530 to the present; and the Cotsen Children’s Library, Princeton (N.J.) University, a major historical collection featuring rare illustrated children's books, manuscripts, original artwork, prints, and educational toys from the 15th century to the present in over 30 languages.
“The Special Collections in Children’s Literature Wikiography will be a helpful resource for those engaged in scholarly research in children’s literature, as well as for those librarians assisting them,” said Kathleen T. Horning, ALSC President. “It’s wonderful to see the collective efforts of curators using 21st century technology to provide access to historical archives and collections.”
The ALSC Committee on National Planning of Special Collections in Children's Literature encourages others to contribute bibliographic citations on their collections to the list at wikis.ala.org/alsc. With the help of contributing special collections curators, this wikiography can grow as a ready-reference source on children’s literature special collections. For those who may be new to wiki technology, the committee has provided helpful, basic instructions on how to add a collection to the wikiography, making it very easy to add to the list. The directions appear at the top of the Web page housing the Wikiography.
To add a collection or to discover what treasures the list and its collections hold, visit wikis.ala.org/alsc and click on the “Special Collections in Children's Literature Wikiography” link near the bottom of the page.
ALSC is a division of the American Library Association.
