Children's Collection
The Children’s collection is divided into 14 areas based on subject or reading level. In some cases, a combination of these two criteria was used. For example, there are two sections for the subject "Native American," the first called, "Native American-Older," which materials are geared toward older readers. The second, called "Native American-Younger," is geared toward younger readers. The categories are indicated by number on the books and are as follows:
- Picture Books
- Young Readers
- Fiction
- Award Winners-Caldecott
- Award Winners-Newberry
- Classics
- Native American-Older
- Native American-Younger
- Health
- Science
- Biography
- Social Sciences
- Sports
- Reference
The Children’s collection is a vital part of the Library collection and is central to the education and community-building aspects of the Library’s mission. In recent years the Library has worked on enlarging and revitalizing this collection, which effort has included adding over 1000 new books. The collection has also been reorganized and programs are being considered to encourage children and their families to make use of the collection. A grant has made it possible to hire a children’s librarian starting in the year 2000 to organize story hours and other programs, as well as provide insight into collection development for the Children’s collection.
Collection development decisions for the Children’s collection will be based on the recommendations and requests of community members, college students, faculty and staff (especially those in the education department, whose opinions may be actively solicited). Review media such as Booklist, which provides information on recently published children’s materials, will also be consulted, as well as the knowledge and observations of library staff. The two "Award Winners" sections of the Children’s collection are a primary focus of development, which a grant has made expansion of this specific area possible. Three other areas of focus for future development include Science, Health, and Sports. These sections are currently small, but popular and frequently used.