The children's library movement abroad has not, on the whole, kept pace with its rapid development in the United States. Not even England and Germany have caught the full educational significance of this movement. In England the limited funds available under the Public Library Acts has greatly hindered prog ress in this direction. In Germany, likewise, the juvenile library movement has lagged be hind considerably, despite a very extensive and well organized library system. Both joined the movement very recently. Germany, for in stance, opened her first children's library only in 1909 and even five years later had children's rooms in but 30 cities — a showing easily sur passed by Denmark, where by 1916 more than 400 children's libraries had been opened, 62 in Copenhagen alone. Russia, on the other hand, has more separate libraries for children than many a more progressive country. In 1915 there were at least 10 such libraries in Moscow alone. But the American example is gradually making itself felt to the ends of the civilized world — in Sweden, New Zealand, Japan, etc. — and there is probably no large book-reading community anywhere that has not some kind of children's library or reading room.
Aims and Means.— Besides the chief aim of children's libraries —the general aim al ready mentioned, which may be called inspira tional — there isanother and perhaps a secondary aim, which may be called informa tional. This consists in teaching library chil dren, directly or indirectly, the intelligent use of libraries and their accessories, including such indispensable library tools as books of reference and card-indexes. Speaking relatively, the second aim is really a means to the more general end for which libraries are maintained; for, obviously, the better children learn how to use the resources of their own libraries the more they necessarily contribute to the efficient use of the adult department.
The attainment of these general aims in volves various more or less distinct lines of work with children, which naturally varies both in kind and degree with local conditions. In general, according to an eminent librarian (Arthur E. Bostwick), aa typical children's de partment of an American public library carries on some or all of the following kinds of work: (1) Controlled and guided circulation of books for home use; (2) use of books and periodi cals as in an ordinary reading room; (3) refer ence use of books, largely in connection with school work; (4) work with very young chil dren, chiefly by means of picture books; (5) exhibitions, the display of illustrated bulletins, etc., always in connection with courses of read ing; (6) story-telling to selected groups.* The three great factors in carrying on these mani fold activities are, of course, the children, the books and the librarians; and although the suc cess of any particular library centre depends upon all three, only the second and third ele ments can properly be considered in this article.
The selection of books for a children's library is at once the most difficult and most important task of the children's librarian. Great diversity of opinion prevails on this sub ject among librarians themselves, and while the problem of children's reading is a new and very serious one (see CHILDREN'S LITERATURE), the conscientious librarians are trying hard to solve it. Since the establishment of children's libraries, policies as to the choice of books have varied all the way from puritanical ex clusion of everything not positively didactic to latitudinarian inclusion of everything the child will read. Such extreme views of the function of children's libraries have naturally put their supervisors on their guard, with the result that, although the golden mean has not yet been generally attained, far higher standards of book selection prevail in children's rooms than in the average adult department. The best children's libraries follow neither moral nor literary criteria to the utter disregard of chil dren's tastes, but provide enough books in suf ficient variety to supply the normal needs of boys and girls of all tastes and of all ages. Special attention, too, is given in children's rooms to the mechanical features of the books selected— such as editions, type, binding, and illustration — since it is realized that attractive ness in children's volumes has more than the obvious esthetic end to recommend it. Indeed, the ideal children's book shelf, already the most attractive in the whole public library, is gradually being made a thing of beauty as well as a joy forever.
Next in importance to the quality and quantity of the books in a children's library are the personality and qualifications of the chil dren's librarian, upon whom the success of the children's room largely depends. Consequently, the most experienced assistants —experienced in dealing with children as well as in library routine — are coming to be employed in the best children's rooms. Such librarians should know intimately the entire range of juvenile litera ture and be in thorough sympathy with the rising generation of book readers, whose read ing they must guide and direct, if they would make the most of their vocation. Besides ex pert knowledge of children's books and special library experience, aptitude for work with children is an indispensable requisite in the children's librarian. Indeed, so important and responsible is her position that special prepara tory courses are now given for such work in nearly all library training schools, at least one of which (The Carnegie Library of Pitts burgh) devotes itself exclusively to the pro fessional training of children's librarians—a training that may well be made as broad and as cultural as is required for the profession of teaching.