The Pedagogical Context of Women in Children's Services and Literature Scholarship

AELSTRACT THISARTICLE DISCUSSES THE PERSISTENCE OF children’s book pioneers in the current practice of children’s literature and services curriculum in library and information science programs. The article draws on the theoretical work of the feminist philosopher Elizabeth Minnich (1990) who, in her book Transforming Knowledge, explores why it matters who is, and who is not, included in the curriculum and presents the necessary tasks of critique, re-membering, and creation. These conceptual functions are applied to the place of women pioneers in children’s librarianship within the library and information science curriculum. The results of a survey taken of current children’s literature faculty of library and information science programs reveal the quandary of those interested in critique, remembering, and creation of women’s history while simultaneously communicating current literature and services to children. The article offers suggestions for incorporating the contributions of women pioneers in the children’s book field within the curriculum of library and information science programs. The reconstruction of a children’s literature and services curriculum would embody what Jane Anne Hannigan calls “a feminist paradigm for library and information science” (Hannigan & Crew, 1993).