From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:06:21 -0500

Connie raises some excellent points about librarians and formula series fiction. It may seem odd to us today that there was such a prohibition against Nancy Drew and other series books in public libraries. But those minders who worked in libraries originally developed their attitudes in response to a completely different publishing world, one in which formula series books from from the Stratemeyer Syndicate dominated. These books, derided as "sensational" by previous generations, were now being called merely "mediocre" after the turn of the century. Here's how the ever-eloquent and dramatic Anne Carroll Moore described the children's book scene at the time: "The trail of the serpent has been growing more and more clearly defined in the flow of children's books from publisher to bookshop, library, home and school -- a trail strewn with patronage and propaganda, moralizing self-sufficiency and sham efficiency, mock heroics and cheap optimism, a proverbial stone in place of bread."

The first generation of children's librarians demanded better books for children, and they joined forces with kindred spirits in the book-selling and publishing world to help create a market for high quality literature. The establishment of the Newbery Medal played a major role in helping to make that happen, and it was a brilliant move on Melcher's part to entrust the judging to children's librarians. This was a decision that was not met without controversy in its day -- remember, these were women who had only just gotten the right to vote in national elections -- and it turned into the first gender war of the 20th century children's book world. Children's librarians throughout the 1920s had to continually justify that they were capable of judging and recommending books boys would like. I don't think it's any coincidence that the books awarded the Newbery in the 1920s were all written by men and could be described as robust books for boys. If you go back through the old reports of ALA conferences in t he early 20th century, you'll find many speeches that address the question of whether women (and spinsters, at that!) were qualified to recommend books for boys.

The most eloquent of these speeches is one that was entitled "They Who Get Slapped," delivered in 1924 by Louise Latimer, children's librarian at DC Public Library. In addition to making a case for women as judges of children's books, she also points out that the attitude against mediocre (i.e. series books) was in the best interest of trade publishers and book sellers, as well: "Of course, a publisher would rather bring out a good juvenile. They have their values and pride, as we have. We will not, therefore, be setting our faces determinedly against cheapness or be working against the authors. While a poor juvenile may have a large sale in the first year or two, one more carefully written juvenile will prosper for years and be a source of income for the writer. While good children may die young, good children's books do not."

After a few decades, when we had a good solid body of excellent and long-lasting children's books built up, the negative attitude toward formula series books had undoubtedly outlived its original purpose. I'm sure there were librarians who held to it simply because it was what they had been trained to do. I think most librarians with decent budgets in modern times provide them for young readers. But when I walk into a bookstore today and see a children's section stocked mostly with formula series, brand-names, TV and movie tie-ins, and gimmicky picture books, I can't help think of those early minders, and I'm glad I have a public library that offers "... bread in place of the proverbial stone."

KT

Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park Street Madison, WI 53706 Tel: 608-263-3721 Fax: 608-262-4933 horning at education.wisc.edu http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 31 Jul 2008 03:06:21 PM CDT