GSLIS Assistant Professor and CCB affiliate Dr. Kate McDowell has two recently published articles in two top journals: Library Quarterly, the flagship journal of the field of Library and Information Science (LIS), and Book History, the journal of the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing (SHARP). Her article "Surveying the Field: The Research Model of Women in Librarianship, 1882-1898" examines the heretofore overlooked contributions of female librarians in the late nineteenth century to the developing field of librarianship and can be found in The Library Quarterly. For full text version of the article click here.
Dr. McDowell's second article titled "Toward a History of Children as Readers, 1890–1930" was published in the 2009 volume of Book History and explores the little-researched topic of childhood reading habits from a historical perspective. For a full text version of the article click here.
The goal of this multiple-phased research project conducted by Carol Tilley and Kathryn La Barre is the development of a next-generation catalog prototype implementation with enhanced records for access to the folktale collection in the Center for Children's Books that gives special consideration to the shared and unique information seeking tasks of three distinct user groups: scholars, practitioners and laypeople. Bibliographic records for folktale resources frequently omit indicators of the rich, cultural heritage these items represent and provide only minimal access to their intellectual contents. Record enhancements may incorporate existing folktale classifications such as the Aarne-Thompson tale-type index and controlled vocabularies as well as current developments in cataloguing practices and standards such as FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records).
The Youth Literature Interest Group (YLIG) is a reading/study group on youth, literature, media, and culture.
This interdisciplinary group, which came into formal existence in 2004, brings together faculty and doctoral students who share a scholarly interest in children’s and young adult literature and media. We represent various disciplines (including Education, English, History, Library and Information Science) and institutions (U of I, ISU, EIU, and others) and meet monthly to discuss research on young people, texts, and cultural contexts. We also participate in the annual GSLIS Research Showcase, and host the Gryphon Lecture, an annual lecture featuring a leading scholar of youth and literature, media, or culture.
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The February 2009 meeting of YLIG celebrated Black History Month with a presentation on and discussion of early 20th century African-American children's and young adult literature.
Dr. Fern Kory, professor of English at Eastern Illinois University , led off with a presentation of her research: “The ‘All-White World of Children's Books’ in the Post-war Era: Call Me Charley and the Integration of American Children's Literature.”
When, why, and how did this "all-white world" of books for young readers start to change? Call Me Charley (1945) was one of the pioneering titles published in the years immediately following World War II. This novel was written by author Jesse Jackson at the invitation of Harper Brothers editor Ursula Nordstrom, who was looking for an African American writer to tell "the story of a black boy."
Dr. Kory’s talk included information about the circumstances under which this book--and its author--found a place in American children's literature and a consideration of what Jackson's story adds to our understanding of the history of African American youth literature. Kory's presentation was followed by a rich and wide-ranging discussion of the history of this body of literature.
YLIG events are free and open to all who have a scholarly interest in books and other texts for young readers. If you would like to be informed of future meetings, send an email to ccb@illinois.edu
You can access Professor Kory's talk here:
http://waterfall.lis.uiuc.edu/dl/events/ylig/koryfeb13_09.ram
The Gryphon Lecture series is hosted every spring semester by the Youth Literature Interest Group (YLIG) and features a leading scholar in the field of youth literature. It is an event developed to hold relevance across disciplines at the University. These lectures are free and open to students and the public. A reception to discuss issues raised, network across departments, and meet with the speaker follows each lecture. Click here for a list of previous speakers and audio.
The Youth Literature Interest Group (YLIG) hosted the first Allerton conference on October 20 - 22, 2006. The Allerton conference, titled Family, Youth, and Literature, highlighted the interdisciplinary focus of YLIG, and included panel speakers from English literature, Library and Information Science, Education, and American Indian Studies. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the theme, both practical suggestions and theoretical explanations were provided.
