An Intriguing Pioneer

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children

It is hard to believe today that there was a time when there were no children’s rooms in public libraries. In America, public libraries began to be established in the 1700s, with the first tax-supported libraries appearing in the mid-1800s. And eventually, when public libraries did have children’s book collections, children were usually not allowed to touch and borrow the books to take home. Some librarians sought to change that fact. Anne Carroll Moore was one of those change makers. Her eventful journey as one of our country’s notable librarians is recounted in the picture book biography Miss Moore Thought Otherwise: How Anne Carroll Moore Created Libraries for Children, by Jan Pinborough.

Annie grew up in Limerick, Maine, in the 1870s. Perhaps it was having seven older brothers that accounted for Annie’s vision of what a girl could do beyond quiet endeavors centered at home. Perhaps it was just her spirited personality that led her to think outside the box—as the book’s refrain “she thought otherwise” indicated she did throughout her life.

Her father nurtured her love of literature and her thoughts of becoming a lawyer like him. Following the loss of her parents and sister-in-law due to the flu, Annie headed for Brooklyn, NY, having learned that libraries were hiring women as librarians, unusual at the time. She studied hard at Pratt Institute library school. Taking a position at the Pratt Free Library, she found delight in the fact that the library had a children’s room that did allow children to handle the books. Her good work led to being in charge of thirty-six children’s collections in the New York Public Library system. She familiarized herself with each library and its neighborhood, entrusted children with taking books home after signing a pledge to care for each book they borrowed, did away with the signs indicating “Silence” in the children’s rooms, and focused on telling stories and reading aloud to diverse audiences of visitors.

Libraries in some communities elsewhere remained unwelcoming places for young people, and when plans for a Central Children’s Room at the 42^nd Street library in Manhattan were hatched, Anne Carroll Moore made sure “her” library was the very best example of a children’s collection and a welcoming space that included reading clubs and visits by musicians, authors and storytellers. It opened in the spring of 1911. “Hundreds of new children’s books in many languages waited within reach. And beneath every window, a cozy window seat waited for children to curl up in it.”

Moore’s standards were high, and given her role as a book reviewer with many connections in the library and publishing world, her opinions made an impression—sometimes creating fierce discussions about what comprised a “good” book for children. Her contribution to the world of children’s literature and library service was felt throughout the country and the world. Her inclination to “think otherwise” led to new perspectives that changed children’s rooms in public libraries forever.

Bright, folk-art style illustrations by Debby Atwell capture both the book’s historical settings and the spirited personality of Anne Carroll Moore. Ending pages highlight other trailblazing librarians, more details about Moore and her impact, and sources for further exploration. This is a delightful celebration of the world of libraries for young readers.

Ages 5-9. Clarion Books, 2013.

The New York Public Library describes the pioneering work of Anne Carroll Moore.