About the S-Collection
The School (S)-Collection in the Education and Social Science library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign consists of more than 100,000 cataloged volumes of children's and young adult literature in a total collection of over 140,000 volumes. In 1993, the S-Collection acquired an additional uncataloged collection of 58,000 children's books from the Center for Research Libraries, which are being cataloged and added to the collection. As of 2006, over 20,000 books have been processed from the uncataloged collection. With this addition, it became one of the most comprehensive collections of children's literature in the nation, second only to the Library of Congress.
Originally created as a working collection for students in Education or Library and Information Science, the collection now supports doctoral and historical research as well.
The S-Collection includes fiction and non-fiction materials in:
beginning-to-read books
picture books
folk literature and mythology
modern fantasy
biography
Special highlights of the collection include:
juvenile biographies of Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin
comprehensively collected works of selected children's authors and illustrators
The non-circulating copies of all of the Newbery and Caldecott winners are the most heavily used items in the S-Collection reference section. The reference section also contains indexes, bibliographies, encyclopedias, biographical works, and critical analysis of children's authors and illustrators. Standard works such as Children's Book Review Index and Something about the Author are supplemented by specialized bibliographies, which highlight topics in children's literature from countries and cultures around the world. A selection of current reviewing journals and children's educational magazines helps to keep the S-Collection and its reference section up-to-date.
Other sources for children's literature at UIUC
- Center for Children's Books
The Center for Children's Books is committed to promoting quality literature for youth in the school and public library, in the classroom, and at home. Located in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science building, the Center for Children's Books is an invaluable resource for locating children's literature materials on the University of Illinois campus. The Center maintains a non-circulating collection of more than 14,000 trade books for children and more than 1,000 professional and reference works, which provide history and criticism of children's literature. Most of the books in the Center's Collection have been reviewed in their affiliate publication, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.
- Curriculum Collection
Within the Education and Social Science Library, the Curriculum Collection serves as a companion to the S-Collection. This historical collection, which dates back to the early 1800's, consists of textbooks, basal readers, curriculum guides, audiovisual materials, kits, assessments, and other instructional items that pertain to elementary and secondary education. Students and researchers may also consult the file of current catalogs from textbook publishers, educational equipment manufacturers, audiovisual vendors and software producers.
- Library and Information Science Library
Many children's literature materials can also be located in the library and information science library.
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
The Rare Book and Manuscript Library maintains an additional collection of historical children's literature and instructional materials, dating back to the sixteenth century. For preservation purposes, collections of pop-up books and books with moveable parts are also maintained here. Access to the rare book collection is available during regular business hours, 8:30 - 5:00, Monday - Friday.
