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Education Libraries: Childrens Resources, Volume 31, No. 3, Spring 2008                       13   
           

“You have kids’ books?!” Promoting children’s literature in an academic library  
By Elaine Gass Hirsch 

 
Abstract:  
The appeal of children’s literature is large, encompassing college students and adults in addition to 
children, young adults, and literary scholars. The genre’s literary sophistication and cultural significance is 
becoming more apparent to a wide variety of readers. Children’s literature, however, is still often 
overlooked and underappreciated in academic libraries. There may be a lack of awareness surrounding the 
collection’s existence, as well as questions surrounding why and for whom it’s being collected. This paper 
addresses how academic librarians can better promote children’s literature collections to all library 
patrons. 
 
In 1974 Choice journal published a two-part 
bibliographic feature on building children’s literature 
collections in academic libraries. Authored by three 
professors of library science, it was re-published as 
monograph the following year in the journal’s 
Bibliographic Essay Series. This work was among the 
first contributions to address children’s collections in 
academic libraries, and was written in part to respond 
to the need of librarians to better support the study of 
children’s literature at all levels in colleges and 
universities (Quimby, Jackson, & Weber, 1975, p. 1). 
Since then recognition of the genre’s literary quality 
and historical significance has grown, and thirty years 
later the appeal of the literature is quite large, 
encompassing college students and adults who are not 
studying it as part of their academic pursuits. While 
most students and faculty in a college’s education and 
library science programs understand the role of 
children’s literature in literacy development and the 
importance of integrating literature into the lives of 
children, many other clientele of academic libraries are 
likely not regular users of the collection, although they 
could enjoy and benefit from it. This often leads to the 
collection being underutilized and under appreciated in 
academic libraries. There may be a lack of awareness 
surrounding the collection’s existence, as well as 
questions about why and for whom it’s being collected. 
To the extreme, there may be 
questions surrounding its 
necessity at the local 
institution. While there are 
always those who seek out 
this literature for study or 
pleasure, there are sure to be 
additional library patrons who 
would appreciate the 
collection and are not currently using it. 
 
There are few publications in the library literature that 
directly address the role of academic libraries in the 
promotion of children’s literature collections. Some of 

these include the fine chapter focused on public 
relations and programming for Special Collections in 
Building a Special Collection of Children’s Literature 
in Your Library (Murphy & Dunhouse, 1998) and an 
article focusing on readers’ advisory and the academic 
library’s children’s collection. (Rice-Lively & 
Immroth, 1993). This paper attempts to further the 
professional discussion by outlining various 
approaches academic librarians can consider to better 
promote a circulating children’s literature collection in 
academic communities, where the primary audience for 
readership is not the patron base.  
 
Collection Quality and Access 
To perhaps state the obvious, the best preparation for 
promoting children’s literature is to become more 
knowledgeable about the existing collection. It is 
important to consider the collection’s strengths and 
weaknesses by reviewing development policy, 
circulation statistics, and determining the average age 
of the materials. A review of the collection’s physical 
integrity is important as well. It’s not worth the time 
and effort to promote an outdated collection in need of 
attention and repair to the entire campus community, 
no matter the historical value it may hold for a few. 
The collection’s age and vitality should be apparent. 
 

Children’s nonfiction is a 
particular area that may need 
to be weeded and updated. 
While picture books and 
young adult fiction get a 
majority of worthy attention, 
nonfiction materials for 
children and young adults 
have become extraordinary 

in recent years with many contemporary titles 
documenting original research and including archival 
photographs, bibliographies, and suggestions for 
further reading. Nonfiction is also promotion-friendly 
as the information contained is useful for gathering 

Children’s literature has grown tremendously in
quality and esteem in recent decades and now has a
wide variety of readers. The academic library has
an important role in collecting and disseminating
this literature for the education department and for
other departments and programs. 



Education Libraries: Childrens Resources, Volume 31, No. 3, Spring 2008                       14   
           

background material for readers of any age and may be 
especially appreciated in an academic library with 
constituencies that include readers for whom English is 
their second language (ESL). 
 
The location and cataloging of the collection are 
additional items to consider. Is the physical location 
apparent to patrons or in an unfamiliar area of the 
library? Is the cataloging system different from the 
majority of the library’s collection? Answers to these 
questions may necessitate user education in 
promotional efforts.  
 
Accessibility through the library’s online catalog and 
webpages is of key importance in promoting the 
collection. Make sure the catalog includes juvenile 
literature subject headings on records to ease the online 
retrieval of these items. Cataloging Correctly for Kids: 
An Introduction to the Tools, edited by Sheila S. Intner, 
Joanna F. Fountain, and Jane E. Gilchrist, offers 
guidance in this area. If the catalog is able to limit 
results to particular locations in the library, the 
children’s collection is an important location to 
include. Many libraries today maintain up-to-date lists 
of new additions, which are accessible to patrons 
through the library’s website and may contain images 
of the book jackets to enhance appeal. Including a 
category for children’s literature on the website is 
highly recommended..  
 
Displays and Exhibits 
The visual attractiveness of 
children’s literature is a 
wonderful asset to aid its 
promotion. The literature 
should be included on the 
library’s display shelves of 
recent acquisitions and new 
materials, which allows patrons 
to regularly view the titles and 
to spark their interest in their 
availability. The color and 
illustration catch the eye and 
will draw patrons to the display, even if they are not 
perusing the children’s works. 
 
If the library has additional display and exhibit areas, 
consider themes within the literature and associated 
events, which could be developed to showcase the 
collection. The Children’s Book Council 
(http://www.cbcbooks.org/) sponsors Children’s Book 
Week, which is an excellent promotion opportunity. 
Since 1919, Children’s Book Week has traditionally 
been held the week before Thanksgiving, however, 

beginning in 2008 it will be held in May rather than 
November (The Children’s Book Council, 2008). CBC 
offers ideas for promoting this event and supporting 
materials on their website. 
 
If there are especially unique titles or themes in the 
collection, as well as the inclination and the time to do 
so, a larger exhibit complete with an exhibit catalog 
and an opening reception or program on a related topic 
can attract additional attention to the collection and the 
library. Murphy and Dunhouse (1998) address exhibits 
and receptions for research collections of children’s 
literature in more detail, which can be adapted for 
circulating collections.  
 
Reference and Library Instruction 
The reference desk and library instruction sessions 
offer a direct way for librarians to let patrons know 
about the collection and the variety and opportunities it 
offers. Patrons who are looking for visual resources 
and pictorial examples may be quite pleased by what is 
available in the illustrated children’s collection. 
Patrons can be encouraged to consider items from this 
collection when searching the online catalog. Although 
uncommon at academic reference desks, students and 
others occasionally ask for readers’ advisory assistance 
and recommendations of popular materials, particularly 
prior to extended breaks during the school year. Young 
adult materials may be of particular interest to 
traditional-age undergraduates when inquiring about 

recreational reading. Reference 
bibliographies of literature for 
youth can help guide these 
patrons to titles on specific 
topics (Rice-Lively & 
Immroth, p. 64). The library’s 
display of recent acquisitions 
in this collection can also aid 
the advisory process.  
 
Children’s literature can 
readily be included in library 
instruction in an appropriate 

manner. When discussing the library’s collections and 
services during general library tours and orientations, 
the literature can be mentioned as an alternative to 
course related reading and a possible source of 
background information. This especially holds true 
when meeting with particular groups of students who 
may benefit from the collection, such as readers for 
whom English is their second language (ESL), as the 
literature is quite viable and should be publicized.  
Teacher education students may be most appreciative 
of information regarding the literature during 

http://www.cbcbooks.org/


Education Libraries: Childrens Resources, Volume 31, No. 3, Spring 2008                       15   
           

instruction sessions. The inclusion of important 
children’s book awards and prizes and book selection 
bibliographies that arrange titles by subject and the age 
of the reader or grade level are appropriate even if 
children’s literature is not the focus of the instruction 
session. Pre-service teachers will likely appreciate this 
information now or have a recollection of it in the 
future, when they are in their own classrooms. 
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the breadth of 
contemporary children’s literature is being covered in 
their teacher preparation coursework, which can lead to 
collaborative opportunities for librarians and education 
faculty if this is indeed the case. 
 
Faculty and Staff Promotion  
It is important to become knowledgeable about those 
on campus who are personally and professionally 
interested in the genre, as partnerships can grow which 
will allow the collection to reach a wider audience. As 
with so many other resources, collections, and services, 
the library can reach a 
larger number of students 
through faculty who are 
aware of the collection 
and discuss it with their 
students or incorporate it 
into their courses year 
after year. In reviewing 
the academic catalog, 
Education and Library 
Science departments are 
the most apparent, 
however, English, Art, 
and Theatre departments, as well as Child Psychology 
and Development, Counseling, and English as a 
Second Language programs are all possibilities. 
 
Librarians who serve as liaisons to these departments 
or programs should first identify particular courses and 
faculty who might be most interested in the literature, 
and may promote the collection with their students or 
be interested in collaborative instructional 
opportunities. An initial step can be to e-mail 
individual faculty or the department periodically with 
new acquisitions or important announcements in the 
field, such as the annual presentation of the Newbery 
and Caldecott Awards by the American Library 
Association (http://www.ala.org/) in January. There is 
an opportunity for connections to be established when 
interested faculty members respond.  
 
There are likely to be faculty and staff members who 
borrow the materials for use with their children and 
grandchildren. This may be for various needs, from 

recreational reading to preparation for science projects 
and other class assignments, to reviewing the books for 
gift purchases (Rice-Lively & Immroth, P. 64). Staff 
members in particular may view the library’s 
collections and services as a benefit of their 
employment at the institution, as there is not a double-
digit queue for popular titles and the latest release as 
there may be at the public library.  
 
Assessment 
It is worthwhile to regularly review the children’s 
materials with an eye to the collection’s use. Are the 
shelves so orderly that it’s clear that books aren’t being 
pulled out and considered by patrons? Or has a stacks 
maintenance worker recently passed through to tidy the 
collection from regular use? It is difficult to determine 
collection use in this manner, but coupled with 
conversations with stacks workers, regular perusal can 
offer a sense of the collection’s vitality on campus. 
After a year or two of applying multiple promotional 

efforts, take the time to 
compare current 
circulation statistics and 
internal use counts with 
statistics gathered before 
the project was 
undertaken. This will 
help to assess whether 
use of the collection is 
increasing and possibly 
reaching a wider 
audience.  
 

Conclusion 
Children’s literature has grown tremendously in quality 
and esteem in recent decades and now has a wide 
variety of readers. The academic library has an 
important role in collecting and disseminating this 
literature for the education department and for other 
departments and programs that can benefit from it, as 
well as for the recreational reading of students, faculty, 
and staff. Evaluating and improving the quality of the 
collection and providing easy access to the materials 
through the online catalog and library website are 
important first steps in the promotion process. 
Developing displays and exhibits and including 
information about the materials in reference desk 
transactions and during library tours and instruction 
classes further promote the collection. Collaborative 
work with faculty can be very beneficial when 
opportunities arise. Promoting a vibrant children’s 
collection can be both enjoyable and much appreciated 
within academic communities. 

http://www.ala.org/


Education Libraries: Childrens Resources, Volume 31, No. 3, Spring 2008                       16   
           

References 
The Children’s Book Council. (2008). Children’s Book 

Week. Retrieved January 23, 2008, from 
http://bookweekonline.com/index1.html  

 
Intner, S.S., Fountain, J.F., & Gilchrist, J.E. (2006). 

Cataloging correctly for kids: An introduction to the 
tools (4th ed.). Chicago: American Library Association. 
Chicago: American Library Association.  

 
Murphy, L., & Dunhouse, M.B. (1998). Public relations and 

programming. In D. B. Jones (Ed.)., Building a special 
collection of children’s literature in your library (pp. 
135-154). Chicago: American Library Association. 

 
Rice-Lively, M. L., & Immroth B. F. (1993). Reader’s 

Advisory in the Academic Library Children’s 
Collection. Collection building 12, 63-66. 

  
Quimby, H. B., Jackson, C.O. & Weber R. (1975). Building 

a children’s literature collection. Middletown, Conn.: 
Choice.  

 
 

 
Elaine Gass Hirsch is the 
Education Librarian and 
Library Advancement 
Coordinator at Lewis & 
Clark College in Portland, 
Oregon.  She has worked in 
academic libraries for 15 
years and with children’s 
literature for the past 10 
years.  She enjoys 

promoting the library’s children’s materials to patrons, 
especially when they haven’t considered using the 
collection. Her scholarly interests include the historical 
and socio-cultural development of American children’s 
literature.    She is a member of the Children’s 
Literature Association and appreciates the thoughtful 
articles and reviews in Education Libraries. 
 
elaineg@lclark.edu  

 
Books in Brief - By Jacqueline Snider 
Book Review & Liaison Editor 
 
Designing Instruction: Making Best Practices 
Work in Standards-Based Classrooms 
 
March, J.K., & Peters, K.H. (2008). Designing Instruction: 
Making Best Practices Work in Standards-Based 
Classrooms. Thousand Oaks: CA: Corwin Press. 337 p. 
ISBN: 978-1-4129-3884-6 (cloth) $80.95; 978-1-4129-
3885-3 (pbk.) $40.95. 
 

The authors outline 
instructional design within 
the context of school 
reform. The design process 
breaks down into the 
following stages; 
performance indicators, 
curriculum mapping, unit 
planning, monitoring, 
benchmark assessments, 
and annual revision of the 
process. By presenting each 

stage comprehensively, the authors make an excellent 
case for adopting these procedures. In addition to 
describing the theory behind the concepts, the book 
includes best practices, and concrete lessons for 
example, a unit on "Discovering Africa." There are 
suggestions on motivation techniques, as well as 
activities for disseminating information. The authors 
explain how to use note-taking, advance organizers, 
and graphic organizers with students. By presenting 
the material in an accessible way, the book combines 
theory with practical applications.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

http://bookweekonline.com/index1.html
mailto:elaineg@lclark.edu