How Children's Libraries Came to Be

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise
​by Jan Pinborough

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise is a book about a woman who made it her life mission to bring books to children through public libraries.

Have you ever enjoyed the children's section at a library? Or gone to story time? As an adult, I still walk into the children's section and have a sense of comfort and welcome. Like I'm returning to visit old friends. I love when my children find new favorite books, and stack their piles high, and get their very own library cards for the first time. It's a rite of passage in our family. I first found out about Paddington, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Corduroy at library story times. And I love that there are children's librarians ready to help my little ones find their next favorite read.

We owe most of these experiences to Anne Carroll Moore. If you don't know who she is, look her up! The @nypl posted about her on their website, and they're featuring one of her amazing mentees (Augusta Braxton Baker) on their instagram account today!

These women believed children needed access to books. Children from all backgrounds. All ethnicities. All walks of life. They believed in taking down the "SILENCE" signs in the library. They believed in children's furniture and children's spaces. They believed in finding the best, most interesting books that children would really love. They believed in fiction and non-fiction in little hands. They believed in children taking their books home. They believed in story time.

Librarians are so important. I wanted to be one when I grew up. I still kind-of do. They change the world, one book into the hands of one child at a time.