Part 14

Until recently the schools have centered their work about man, studying his language, literature, methods of reasoning, and the manner in which he has partitioned off the earth into countries. No importance whatever was attached to his physical surroundings, which form so great a factor in his life and by which he is so profoundly affected. In history, the study of dates, battles and leaders was all that was required. In geography, the work was almost exclusively confined to a description of the earth, the location of mountains, rivers, cities, and political divisions. Before the establishment of the national Weather Bureau there was scarcely any public interest manifested in the phenomena of the atmosphere and its relation to various weather elements. Many of us can recall from our own experience the picture of the earth divided into zones, but why such a division was made did not come up for consideration.

What are we now aiming to do for the child? We are looking beyond the mere cultivation of memory; and we desire to increase the child's point of contact with the world, to bring him into closer relationship with the life about him, to broaden his sympathies and to develop the powers of observation and reason. In so far as we are able to accomplish these results, we shall make him happier by enabling him to understand the great laws that govern the universe. The child is learning that the facts of history are the results of causes, that they are the working out of great principles and that by the comparison of the past with the present he may be able to judge of the future. From a study of the physical features of the earth he learns that slopes determine the course of rivers and that cities are dependent for their growth upon physical environment. The consideration of the weather enables him to understand the state of the atmosphere about him, its effect on climate, the cause of storms, and the different action of solar energy on air, land, and water, which renders possible life upon the earth. Science demands an investigation of the growth and habits of plants and animals, the relationship of one form to another, the function and adaptation of parts, the effect of surroundings, while form and structure are results, not ends.

We want to lead the child from results back to causes. The possession of a vast number of facts, unrelated among themselves, is valueless and even harmful, for the child does not look upon nature as a whole. Nature-study, perhaps more than any other subject, leads the child into sympathy with his environment. He observes carefully and thoughtfully and thus the individual is developed. From personal contact with nature he gains the power of accurate observation, correct thinking and judgment; thus strengthening his moral character. If this is the effect of nature-study upon the development of the child, the question comes to the librarian--What principles shall guide me in the selection of books that the library with which I am connected may be of assistance in accomplishing these results, and meet the demand of modern education?

A book for children should be attractive. The exterior should present a harmony of color and tasteful decoration. The text should be printed with clear type upon good paper and should be well illustrated. Colored plates are preferable, provided the coloring is good, otherwise uncolored illustrations are far more desirable. The text should be clear, simple, and scientifically correct.

The new scientific book differs from the old. The old style book gave dead results, no sympathy in or interest for life was aroused, no suggestions were given for first-hand observations of nature, consequently the book failed to stimulate a desire for personal investigation that could be verified by the recorded work of others. The new scientific book not only gives results but a detailed account of the methods employed in obtaining those results. The reader is interested in trying the same experiments, gains a sympathy and interest in the wonderful life history of a plant, bird, or insect, develops a tenderness for life and feels that all nature is a sympathetic unit.

Within the last few years the interest that has been aroused throughout the country in "nature-study," has caused a great demand for this class of books. Writers and publishers have hastened to meet the demand and as a result the market has been flooded with books that were made to sell. Too often the writers have not been scientific persons, and as a result the books have been mere compilations, or were not true to facts. They lacked the true spirit of science. Other authors have not separated the element of fiction from that of science, thinking that the child could only be interested in nature by means of a story. The writer of this paper does not believe that science books should be made story books. "Tenants of an old farm," by McCook, is a good illustration of the combination of the science and story element. The author is a naturalist and whatever facts are presented may be accepted as being as nearly correct as it is possible to make them since they represent the results of careful personal observation. The author himself did not believe that the truths of nature were so unattractive that they needed to be woven into a story in order that the book might find its way to the general reader. Then why did he employ this method? He was persuaded by his friends to change the original plan of the book and presented it, after much hesitation, in its present form. The book has thereby lost much of its usefulness.

Another element that many authors have employed to a greater or less extent is personification. That the value of a book is lessened thereby and its power over the reader greatly decreased, is beyond question. There may be some excuse for a limited amount of personification in the treatment of bees, wasps, or ants, but the majority of forms of plant and animal life does not need the human factor in order to make clear life-relationships. Grant Allen, in his "Story of the plants," has described the use of the stamens and pistils as "how plants marry" and the modes of fertilization as "various marriage customs." Allen Gould, in "Mother Nature's children," speaks of the "snakehead" fish and its young as "Mr. and Mrs. Snakehead and their babies" and of the seed-vessels of plants as "ways the mother plants have of cradling their babies." This method of treating nature's truths does not make the facts any clearer to the child; it only tends to diminish the grandeur of that truth. Some writers have considered it desirable to embody the thought in terms that are already, or are supposed to be, familiar to the child, that he may be able to grasp the truth. The author forces upon the child a double task, since he must first get the thought as it appears and then search for the concealed fact. This process is not liable to be successful. Mrs. Dana, in "Plants and her children," uses the term "sweet stuff" for nectar, "watery-broth" for the cell-sap of plants. The food of plants is spoken of as the "plant's bill of fare," and in expressing the fact that the crude sap which is taken up by the roots needs to be converted into elaborated sap before it may be used as food, she says "When the watery broth is cooked in the sun, the heat of the sun's rays causes the water to pass off through the little leaf mouths. Thus the broth is made fit for plant food." Must not the child possess some scientific knowledge before he will be able to understand the author's meaning? "Plants and her children" is a valuable book, but would not its merits be greatly enhanced if the scientific facts were told in simple language? They certainly have interest enough in themselves to be attractive to the child. Books like Hooker's "Child's book of nature" should be discarded. They represent the old scientific thought. No sympathy or interest in life is aroused, no relationships are suggested, no adaptation to environment is shown, no incentive is given for personal observation. Why should we cling to the old when a book can be obtained that will more nearly satisfy our needs?

There is often a great difference in the individual merits of books by the same author. Mabel Osgood Wright's "Birdcraft" is valuable, while "Tommy Anne and the three hearts" and "Wabeno" are the reverse. The last two represent a type of book that should not be included in a science library. The fairy and story element so greatly exceeds the scientific as to render the books absolutely valueless, nor are they a success from a literary standpoint. No book in which the author wanders from one subject to another, in such rapid succession that the reader has difficulty in following the thought, or is so vague that an effort must be made to understand the topic treated, can be of much practical value. The greater number of the Appleton's "Home reading books" possess little merit. The selections were not written for children; they lack simplicity, are not attractive and are too technical. The article "The life of plants" in "Plant world" would require two or three readings by an adult in order to understand what the author was discussing. The best books in this series are Weed's "Insect world" and Holden's "Family of the sun" and "Stories of great astronomers." Such books as Fanny Bergen's "Glimpses at the plant world," Carpenter's "Geographies," Kearton's "Our bird friends," and Weed's "Stories of Insect life" represent the style of book that the elementary science of to-day demands. We do not wish to make scientists of the children, but by means of the best books on nature-study we would prepare the way for elementary science. _Nature-study_ is not _science_, for science is classified knowledge. So far as possible let the elements of personification and fiction be omitted, do not select books that are too technical or vague, that are not well illustrated, and that are not true to science.

Then our libraries will contain books that will incite the self-activity of the child and arouse the spirit of investigation; books that will stimulate observation and inculcate a spirit of tenderness and love for all life.

ELLA A. HOLMES, _Assistant curator, Children's Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences_.

BULLETIN WORK FOR CHILDREN.

BY CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH WALLACE, _Hazelwood Branch, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh_.

The primary object of bulletin work is to direct the attention of the children to the books. The bulletin, like a poster, attracts the eye, arouses interest in a subject, and advertises the books treating of it. By means of picture bulletins interest may be awakened in topics before unnoticed; the children are curious to learn more about the pictures displayed, their curiosity is further excited by the short descriptive text, and as a result books relating to the subject are read. Thus, without rousing the children's suspicions, we are able to guide their reading.

The second object is the cultivation of the children's appreciation for pictures. If we can catch the eye by attractive pictures, we may add to the children's store of ideas, and aside from broadening their knowledge, bring them under the beneficent influence of beauty. Pictures of æsthetic value placed in a children's room in which harmony of decoration, furniture, and arrangement have been considered, exert a vitally refining influence. When we realize how painfully lacking in refinement are many of the homes of the children who visit the library, how blinded are their eyes to beauty because of their sordid surroundings, we shall then see how essential it is to enrich their lives by every means of cultivation appropriate to our field of work.

Whatever we may do in bulletin work must accord with the high standard of taste evidenced in all of the fittings of a dignified library. While we are to aim to attract the children by bulletins which are simple and childlike in spirit, we must keep a sharp lookout that in our effort to please them our bulletins do not become tawdry and fussy in style. We are to meet the children on their level and yet educate their taste to a higher standard.

The first practical consideration of bulletin-making is the collection of material. Pictures may be obtained from a variety of sources. Old magazines, book announcements, publishers' catalogues, book covers, book plates, railroad guides, advertising sheets, posters, special prints, etc., form the main sources of supply. In addition to a stock of good-toned gray mounting-board for regular use, colored mounting-board may be employed as a suitable background for colored prints, or to express the main idea of the bulletin--a delicate shade of green making an effective mount for certain pictures for bulletins on "Spring."

The choice of subject is of supreme importance. We should study the children whom we are trying to benefit, that we may discover their tastes and learn their interests. We may select a subject in line with the course of school study. This serves not only to illustrate a subject in which the children are already interested, but is an incidental means of making known to the teacher and pupils the usefulness of the library in furnishing reading supplementary to the school studies. We may bulletin a subject of transient interest, thus informing the children along this particular line; or, we may choose a topic which by the novelty of its presentation, may arouse interest in an unfamiliar subject, providing we make sure in choosing that we relate the unknown to the known. We always have a chance of illustrating some one of the universal interests of childhood. Spring and autumn exhibits, bulletins on birds, flowers, and animals, certain anniversaries, etc., invariably prove attractive to children. The bulletins should be such as to satisfy a catholicity of taste and cover a wide range in age and understanding. But whatever be one's choice of subject, let it be carefully thought and wrought out, definite in plan and purpose, and worthy the necessary expenditure of time, material, and effort.

It is well to read thoroughly on a subject before attempting to plan a bulletin. The reading of sketchy accounts in children's books is not a sufficient preparation for this work. It is better to turn to more substantial sources that we may penetrate the meaning of the subject for the children, and reflect this in the selection and arrangement of the pictures in the text, and in the talks with the children about the bulletin. We may thus reinforce the message of the bulletin and lead the children to the best book where the information they are seeking may be found.

The explanatory text of the bulletin should be direct and simple. Accuracy of statement is essential; this is especially important in scientific subjects. Experiment has proved that a concise and simple account will be read, when a longer statement is passed unnoticed.

Poetry may be appropriately introduced to illustrate the thought of the bulletin. We should select the very best poems which will serve the purpose, making sure they are simple and clear enough in meaning to be readily understood by the children. In bulletin work we have an opportunity to acquaint the children with the choicest poetry. In addition to displaying pictures which please the eye, we may also present word-pictures, thus making a double appeal to the mind.

An annotated book list is of great service in connection with the bulletin. This enables the children to gain an idea of the subject matter of the various books, and, if the notes are attractive, induces them to read a book which otherwise might be ignored. In teaching the children the use of lists we are also preparing them for independent work later. The books, it possible, should be placed on a shelf near the bulletin, that they may be conspicuous and easily accessible.

No matter how beautiful the collection of pictures, nor how happy the choice of subject, a bulletin will not be successful unless it is well executed. Technical skill is also necessary in carrying out the idea. Not only should the bulletin direct attention to books but it should nourish æsthetic taste as well. Form is as important as subject. Slipshod mounting, unequal margins, untidy work in general, detract from the appearance of the bulletin, and are most disastrous object lessons to children.

We must collect only material which is worth while and even from this select with the greatest care. Sometimes it may be necessary to make use of weak or faulty prints in reference work, if a subject is sparingly illustrated, but such material should be reserved for this purpose rather than posted on bulletins.

There is danger in exhibiting more than one bulletin at a time--exception being made, of course, for such bulletins as illustrate allied subjects, thus forming an exhibition. The display of too many pictures on any one bulletin is equally inadvisable. Have we not all of us at times felt oppressed and confused by the seemingly endless array of pictures at a large art exhibit? The mind is overtaxed in the effort to grasp it all. Knowing the patience with which little children study a picture, even dwelling on the smallest detail with delight, it would be better to choose with discrimination, and avoid bewildering the minds of the children, and fatiguing their attention by a large collection of pictures. A miscellany of pictures or bulletins defeats its one purpose--that of making a definite impression which should lead to further investigation of a subject.

The arrangement of the bulletin should make its central thought and object apparent. A bulletin on Lincoln's life if properly arranged could easily tell the story of the experiences between the log-cabin and White House. The pictures should have some logical grouping, whether by succession of events, or according to some natural relationship, as bringing a collection of wild flowers together in the order of their appearance, birds and animals by families, etc.

Concerning the composition of the bulletin, we may borrow the rules of pictorial composition and adapt them to bulletin purposes. According to John C. Van Dyke, "Pictorial composition may be defined as the proportionate arranging and unifying of the different features and objects of a picture.... There must be an exercise of judgment on the part of the artist as to fitness and position, as to harmony of relation, proportion, color, light; and there must be a skilful uniting of all the parts into one perfect whole." In a bulletin as in a picture there must be a center of interest. We should strive to effect this by selecting for this purpose a picture which has earned its place, because it best suggests the subject, or because pictorially, either through tone or color, it best adapts itself to the principles of composition. The other pictures should be grouped accordingly, always taking account of the subject and artistic value of each in placing them. The bulletin should be built up architecturally as well, letting the heavy pieces support the light. Such a picture as Rosa Bonheur's "Ploughing" should not surmount Breton's "Song of the lark."

Color has its legitimate place in bulletin work as children are keenly alive to its attractiveness. It is because they are so sensitive and impressionable in this regard that our responsibility is proportionately greater; this alone should make us most discreet and careful in its use. Van Dyke cautions us in the following terms: "Beware of your natural taste, beware of bright pictures for they are generally bad." He tells us "That 'color' does not mean brightness alone; and that a 'colorist' is not one who deals in flaming colors with the recklessness of a crazy-quilt maker, but one who justly regards the relationship, the qualities, and the suitableness of his colors one to another...." Harmony strives to associate colors which are congenial to each other; however, it cannot be comprehended in the abstract. We bring to our bulletin work the results of our previous standards of taste, be these high or low. But we may raise our standards by holding ourselves receptive to the influence of art, whether it be decorative, ceramic, textile, or pictorial, and appropriate the lessons which it teaches in blending color into harmony. The love of prime colors is characteristic of primitive man, while the appreciation of the neutral tones is the acquirement of civilization. Intellectual development conforms to the epochs of racial progress. Children love crude and elementary colors. But while we make concession to their taste we should also educate it to an appreciation of the refined in color.

The question of economy often arises in connection with bulletin work. Are bulletins sufficiently useful and effective to pay for the outlay of time and money? In a system of central and branch libraries this is not so serious a problem as the same bulletin may be of service in the various libraries. The tendency toward extravagance would appear in the excessive quantity of bulletins exhibited, rather than in the expensive quality of any one of them. Certainly we should strive to be economical in the sense of planning the material without loss or waste, but "whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well," and the main question is, are bulletins worth doing at all? The bulletin justifies itself by the results it accomplishes in calling attention to subjects, guiding the reading, circulating books, and increasing the children's observation and enjoyment of pictures.

REFERENCE WORK WITH CHILDREN.

BY HARRIET H. STANLEY, _Brookline_ (_Mass._) _Public Library_.

Preliminary to preparing this report, a list of 15 questions was sent to a number of libraries in different parts of the United States, from 24 of which replies were received. So far as space would permit, the facts and opinions obtained have been embodied in this paper.

Reference work with grown people consists in supplying material on various topics; we consider it sufficiently well done when the best available matter is furnished with as little cost of time and trouble to the inquirer as is consistent with the service we owe to other patrons of the library. To a certain extent this statement is true also of reference work with children, but I think we are agreed that for them our aim reaches further--reaches to a familiarity with reference tools, to knowing how to hunt down a subject, to being able to use to best advantage the material found. In a word, we are concerned not so much to supply information as to educate in the use of the library. Seventeen of the 24 libraries reporting judge children to be sent to them primarily, if not wholly, for information. One of the first steps towards improving and developing reference work with children will have been taken when the teacher appreciates the larger purpose, since the point of view must materially affect the character and scope of the work. Another forward step is for the library to have definitely in mind some plan for accomplishing these ends. Whatever the plan, it will in likelihood have to be modified to accord with the teacher's judgment and needs, but a definite proposal ought at least to give impetus to the undertaking.

Six libraries state that a considerable part of the inquiries they receive from children are apparently prompted by their individual interests, and not suggested by the teacher. These inquiries relate chiefly to sports, mechanical occupations and pets. This paper is confined to the discussion of reference work connected with the schools.

_Library facilities._