Book Review: Our Library by Phyllis R. Fenner (1939)

Published in 1939, Our Library is a book-length reflection on the successes of Phyllis Fenner's career as a school librarian in Manhassett, New York. This was one of the first books written about elementary school libraries, and it provides advice on everything from materials selection to the involvement of students in running the library.

I found this book completely fascinating not because of how much has changed in librarianship in 80 years but because of how much has remained exactly the same. Fenner's concerns mirror many that today's librarians still consider: welcoming all races, reaching reluctant readers, developing a diverse collection, etc.  Sometimes I think forward-thinking young librarians have a tendency to only look ahead at what's coming next without regard for the foundations that have been laid by the pioneers of the profession. This leads to professionals who feel as though they have just discovered things (like diversity, for example) that, in truth, have been around for decades. There is a lot to learn from professional texts of the past. Sure, some of the tools Fenner uses are out of date, but her reasons for using them, and the end results of their use, are very much the same as the purposes of today's librarians.

I found this book to be both a charming walk down memory lane (I do love the card catalog!) and a valuable professional tool that helped me renew my understanding of what the field of youth librarianship is all about: connecting kids with books they will love that will help them achieve academically and become lifelong readers. When Kirkus reviewed the book upon its original publication, the reviewer noted, "It should prove very constructive and stimulating to school librarians, to teachers who are uncertain to what extent the school library can meet their needs, to parents who should understand the extent to which library work is of value to their children." Though decades have gone by, I still found this to be an accurate assessment of Our Library.