A set of the world’s entire corpus of children's books in Lao (27 books) has been donated to the International Youth Literature Collection housed in Rutgers’ Alexander Library, a gift from Sonia Yaco, the library’s head of Special Collections and Archives.
The IYLC was created by SC&I Associate Professor of Practice Marc Aronson and Doris Gebel (a retired youth librarian who is now a part-time lecturer in the SC&I Library and Information Department), with the assistance of several years of Master of Information students taking the spring course on International Youth Literature taught by Aronson.
“Because the IYLC exists,” Aronson said, “there is a place, a natural home, for the Lao books when they were offered to the special collections staff.”
This acquisition is significant, Aronson said, because these books, published by a company in Laos named Big Brother Mouse, are the first children's books ever written and published in Lao.
Aronson said prior to the publication of these books, “stories and songs in Lao were shared with children, but no one had actually written, illustrated, and published books for young people in Lao. This collection is devoted to creating literacy in Laos through books and education. As the very first publisher of books in Lao, Big Brother Mouse even needed to create new fonts using the Lao alphabet. They truly are path-breakers, and in their photos, the amazement and excitement of the children, as they look at, and pass around, their very first books, is very evident.”
The donation will be celebrated on April 1, 2022, as part of the annual “Day of the International Children's Book,” event held at Alexander Library. Managed in part by Aronson, he said about the event, “Because it is April 1, our focus will be humor for children and teenagers and, so far, will include readings in at least Arabic, Chinese, French Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, and more.”
Attendees will be greeted by SC&I Dean Jonathan Potter and Associate Dean for Programs Dafna Lemish, and Dee Magnoni, associate university librarian, Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
The addition of this new collection adds to the increasing success of the IYLC at Alexander, an exciting development for the library’s patrons, as well as for the library staff members who catalog and manage the IYLC, and Aronson and Gebel, who identify, curate, and purchase the IYLC books.
In addition to the work they already undertake on behalf of the IYLC, Aronson said he and Gebel are also currently focused on “using their skills and knowledge in ways that are of broad use to the community” by collaborating with other departments at Rutgers, such as the Rutgers English Language Institute, and individual language professors, to create a hub devoted to international youth literature at Rutgers.
The success of the Rutgers IYLC, Aronson said, has largely been made possible by the generosity and support the collection receives both from Marie Radford, professor and Chair of the SC&I LIS Department, and Magnoni. Tao Yang, East Asian Librarian at Alexander Library, has been a longstanding contributor and supporter as well.
Alexander Library’s “Day of the International Children's Book” event will be held in-person and virtually. For guests affiliated with Rutgers, the in-person event will take place on April 1, 2022, from 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. The online event will be held from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Additional details are forthcoming soon.
Discover more about the Master of Information Program and the Library of Information Science Department at SC&I is on the website.
Images courtesy of Marc Aronson.
