Subiaco Children Taking Care Of Books... (1938).
This article "Library Training. Children Taught Care of Books" was published in the West Australian on 21 September, 1938. The article describes how children at the Subiaco State School were using a library of over 1000 books that had been established, and were taking care of those books themselves.
The photographs are from the Western Mail, 18 February, 1943 of the Children's Library in Perth established by the Little Citizens League.
The article is from Trove, the database of the National Library of Australia. No copyright infringement intended.
West Australian, 21 September 1938.
LIBRARY TRAINING.
Children Taught Care of Books.
Use of a card indexing system, voluntary giving, and efficient book repairing are features of a library of nearly 1,000 books maintained by the children of the Bagot-road (Subiaco) State school Not only are many hundreds of children gaining entertainment and a love of reading by taking out a book every week, but they are being taught to take care of them, knowing that the penalty of carelessness is either the need to repair the damaged item, or the replacement of the book by a new one at the expense of the library fund.
The library is divided into two sections, circulating or fiction, and reference. Reference books may be borrowed by the children for study in classrooms, for preparation of lecturettes, and special permission may be obtained to take the books home when the children desire prolonged study of their subject. Books of fiction may be retained for one week, but if there is no inquiry for them, they can be taken for another week.
The library was started with money donated by the Parents and Citizens' Association, and individual gifts of suitable books. For a time this foundation was built upon by the payment of a book or 1 d, but it was found that those children who most needed the use of a library could the least afford to pay.
Hence, all fees were dispensed with, and the library is now entirely free to every child in the schooL Periodically a grant is made for library purposes from the school fund maintained by the association to buy school sports equipment.
Each class has two librarians (a boy and a girl), and assistants who understudy them. The pupils learn how to handle the card system, the card for each book showing the name of the borrower. school class, and dates the book was taken and returned. The card is filled with 26 entries, and is then passed to the head teacher, who can thus see which type of book is the most popular, to which class in the school it most appeals, and whether its popularity warrants its duplication.
As each book is returned, the librarians scan it to see that it has been kept in good condition and, after due entry is made, it is returned to the shelves. There is a periodical check on the entire library, all books being called in for a week; and in the past year only one book was missing, records showing that it had been taken by a boy who left school and failed to return it.
About half an hour is allotted to each class for library service, the pupils going into the library in parties of about 12, forming a queue to return their books and selecting others.
The card system shows that some books have a keen demand, and several children in every class privately exchange their borrowings, thus reading two or more books in their week. One little girl in the fourth standard has read 74 books this school year. In her classroom, an inquiry showed that 94 per cent of those present had changed their books that week, while 12 had exchanged with their mates.
Books become badly worn. but they were never defaced or destroyed by the children. When needing attention, they are listed and set aside for repair by the boys in manual classes, book-binding being one of the school activities. This class turns out a very workman like job. The finished product being as good as new. In addition, pamphlets. such as the "Rural Magazine" and leaflets issued by the Department of Agriculture are neatly bound into book form for the reference library. The stiff covers are then protected with envelopes of khaki drill, made by the girls under a teacher's supervision.
Have you a camera? Do you ever secure "snaps" which will interest other people? If so, why not forward your photographs to "The Western Mail." which seeks to reflect the life of the community.
