Children's Folklore in the Academic Library: Reorganization for Context and Collection Management

Abstract

Traditional literature (including folk tales, fairy tales, and fables) is valued in academic children's literature collections for its value in both direct use (real or hypothetical) with children and the historical, cultural, and anthropological study of folklore. The “timeless” feel of these works, along with their distinctively liminal place between fiction and nonfiction, can lead them to be perceived as indefinitely useful, even beyond their unusually long standard retention period. Nevertheless, in a non-archival academic children’s literature collection, routine assessment of traditional literature is necessary and even valuable. This article situates traditional literature in the context of children’s literature and its academic study, then describes how the children’s folklore collection in one academic library was bifurcated to improve access, browsing ability, context, and use of shelf space. Considerations, including thoughts on developing assessment and weeding criteria, are spelled out for collections considering a similar undertaking.