Nebraska Archive of Children's Books
(Established 1984)
A book may not have outlived its usefulness because it no longer appeals to the interests or tastes of the contemporary child, or because its information has been superceded. Books written for children, more than any other body of literature intended for a particular group of readers, reflect the attitudes, customs, and concerns of the societies and the times in which the books were written. They are valuable, then, not only for the study they afford of those societies and those times, but to assist in the understanding of prevailing attitudes and concerns.
Few libraries, however, can retain indefinitely all of the flow of books expected to attract, amuse, and instruct young people. Libraries are constrained by space limits; they must constantly separate little used material from their collections to make room for books that will appeal and be read. What should be done with those books which have continuing value but no longer interest this day’s child?
To resolve this dilemma for local libraries, the Nebraska Library Commission, with the cooperation and assistance of the Calvin T. Ryan Library at Kearney State College, now the University of Nebraska at Kearney, established the Nebraska Archive of Children's Books. The purposes of the archive collection are to provide continuing access to:
1. Examples of significant Juvenile books which reflect the customs·, social values and history of the times in which they were written.
2. Retrospective works for young people dealing specifically with Nebraska life and history.
3. Books out of print and books for which there is diminished local demand but which may be of continuing interest to the researcher or scholar.