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"A Home-like Atmosphere": The Advent of Children's Rooms at St. Louis Public Library, 1906-1912
Most public libraries in the United States did not include collections,
rooms, or librarians dedicated to work with children until the
early twentieth century. The establishment of children’s rooms as a
customary feature of U.S. public libraries coincided with bequests
to public libraries by the Carnegie Corporation. One such library,
St. Louis (Missouri) Public Library, provides an example of how
large, urban library systems expanded to included neighborhood
branches as well as a central branch building, all of which contained
a purpose-built space for work with children. As branch buildings
with children’s rooms emerged, so did the need for trained children’s
librarians. Paradoxically, as soon as there were rooms dedicated to
children, librarians extended their reach to municipal playgrounds,
schools, and other venues outside of the library. Children’s librarians
found themselves traversing a variety of spaces, serving a diverse
population in multiple sites.published or submitted for publicationLimitedpublisher requiremen