A Survey of Children's Book Editors and Children's Television Producers

Abstract

A Survey of Children's Book Editors and Children's Television Producers Marilyn F. Apseloff In the fall of 1980 the ChLA Board voted to sponsor a survey of children's book editors and children's television producers to find out about the backgrounds of people in decision-making positions in those two fields.1 The idea for the survey came from Francelia Butler, and I have followed through with it, producing some interesting results for ChLA members. The survey was sent to 210 publishers (and their subdivisions) and producers (170 publishers and 40 producers). Twelve came back as being undeliverable, and of those actually sent back by individuals, ten had no children's book division. The return from publishers was excellent: forty-three sent in comments, giving substance to this profile. Only one television producer replied to the one-page survey, which follows. Please circle the appropriate letter or write an answer to the following questions. 1. How many people in decision-making positions (selecting manuscripts and programming material) work in your department? 4 depts. had only 1 each; 12 had 2; 10 had 3, 8 had 4; 4 had 5; 2 had 6; 2 had 7; 1 had 8; & 1 had 50. Total: 202 2. How many have received college degrees, and in what fields? From what schools? Degree: Field: School: B.A. 78 Educ.-3; Eng., 32 too many to list, but several from Simmons & a few from Smith, NYU, Mt. Holyoke, U. of Mich., Cornell, Indiana U. B.S. 9 M.A. 35 Educ.-4; Eng., 7 M.LS. 9 Ph.D. 8 Educ.-1; others not specified Science, math, for. langs., bus., etc. Most Ivy League schools rep. at least once Other: 29+ 3. How many have been university trained in criticism and/or literature? Total: 72. 4. How often do you use outside consultants? a. Regularly—13 b. Occasionally—26 c. Never—5 5. How often were consultants used during the past year? Occasionally, 3; 1-2 times, 3; 3,3; 4,4; 5-7, 1; 8-11, 3; monthly, 4; constantly, 10; never, 5 6. What are the backgrounds of recent consultants? a. Psychologists—used by 7 respondents b. Librarians—by 25 c. Educators—by 23 d. Humanists with a background in literature—by 7 e. Pediatricians—by 2 f. Family Counselors—by 4 g. Other (please specify): by 15—scientists; lawyers; specialists of various kinds, esp. for nonfiction; sociologists; etc. *7. What do you think would be the best preparation for your specialty? Extensive reading, 12 responses; lit. & criticism, 15; bus. management, 4; educ. in children's lit. or a related field, 13; backgrounds in publishing, 13; teaching, 8; other (generalists, sales, work with children, etc.), 21 [End Page 33] 8. Would you like to know the results of this survey? a. Yes—31 b. No—8 Please use the other side for any additional comments you might wish to make. *Responses to #7 usually included at least 2-3 of the preparations listed. The survey reveals that most of the decision-makers do have college degrees, many of them in English, from colleges and universities throughout this country and Canada. More than one-third have training in criticism and/or literature. Yet despite what appears to be a humanist influence, the comments made in answer to question #7 reflect a more practical approach: "publishing is a business" was frequently emphasized. Even though backgrounds of extensive reading, literature and criticism, and education in children's literature or a related field were often cited, they were almost always combined with the need for more practical experience in publishing or related fields. Therefore, ChLA members who have an interest in the publication of children's books cannot expect that their expertise in children's literature will guarantee them a good starting position. A more discouraging note is sounded by the responses to question #6, for here, where consultants are used, the input by humanists, especially those with a literature background, is very low. Instead, more practical choices are made of librarians, educators, or specialists of various kinds. Librarians and educators tend to be faced with budgetary problems of their own; their choices, therefore, may...