No. 6 (March 2006) Contents & Summaries of some articles

Contents

Frontispiece: Activities of the ILCL in 2005
Foreword Takao Murayama 2
Symposium: "For a Wider Dissemination of Books for Children with Disabilities -Collaboration between Libraries and Publishers" 3
Part 1: Keynote speech"How to publish easy-to -read materials -Experience from Sweden" Bror Tronbacke 5
Part 2 : Reports from other panelists and discussion Hisako Kakuage 13
Exhibition " Russian children's literature -from folklore to contemporary fiction" Exhibition Team 19
Exchange of children's literature between Paris and Moscow -to the Exhibition " Russian children's literature" held at the ILCL Hideko Suematsu 23
Report on the 2005 ILCL Lecture Series on Children's Literature -utilizing the collection of ILCL -History of Japanese Children's Literature Planning and Cooperation Division 28
Crepe-paper books (chirimen-bon) from the ILCL collections Maki Eguchi 30
Renewal of ILCL website Planning and Cooperation Division 31
More materials available on the ILCL Digital Library of Children's Literature and the Union Catalog Database of Children's Literature Resources and Information Division 32
Visit to libraries in Malaysia, India, and Thailand Rie Masuda 34
Memorable days in Ueno for a librarian from Fukuoka Hideko Sakanashi 36
ILCL activity report 37
ILCL in figures 45
Schedule 50
User guide 51

Summaries of some articles

Symposium:"For a Wider Dissemination of Books for Children with Disabilities - Collaboration between libraries and publishers"

The International Library of Children's Literature (ILCL) and the Japanese Board on Books for Young People (JBBY) held a symposium "For a Wider Dissemination of Books for Children with Disabilities- Collaboration between libraries and publishers," on July 20, 2005. About 100 people, from public libraries, educational institutions, and publishing industries from all over the country, got together at the ILCL.

In the first half of the symposium, a keynote speech "How to publish easy-to-read materials. Experiences from Sweden." was given by Mr. Bror Tronbacke, Director of the Centre for Easy-to-Read and a former member of the Standing Committee of Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons Section in the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). Mr. Tronbacke explained why making publications easy-to-read is essential not only for the disabled but also for others from the viewpoint of the basic principle of democracy and equity in social participation. He also reported their practice of promoting "Easy-to-Read" materials in Sweden by showing some example publications.

Ms. Hisako Kakuage, Chair of the Executive Committee for the exhibition of the JBBY "Best of Books for Young People with Disabilities", moderated the second stage of the symposium. Four Japanese pioneers who have made and promoted books for children with special needs reported their practices.

Mr. Kaoru Yamauchi is a member of the Committee Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons Section in the Japan Library Association and a librarian actually working in services for disabled users at the Midori Library in Sumida Ward, Tokyo. He reported on the history and perspective of the library services for children with disabilities in Japan. Looking back at the history, he referred to the reading service for the visually disabled that started in 1970 at the Hibiya Library of the Tokyo Metropolitan Library as the beginning of the services for the disabled in Japanese public libraries.

Ms. Kuniko Wakiya of the Osaka Prefectural Central Library introduced the activities of the Wanpaku Bunko, a section of the library in charge of the service for visually impaired children. The Wanpaku Bunko has produced children's books in Braille and worked for the promotion of the social participation of disabled persons.

Mr. Mamoru Konoike, a freelance editor, who had worked at Kaisei-sha Publishing Co., introduced his own experience of publishing books related to children with disabilities at Kaisei-sha. He discussed the difficulty of publishing books related to children with disabilities as the market for them is very small. He then proposed that publishing companies should co-finance the establishment of a research organization for the publication.

Mr. Tsugumasa Takakura, a professor of Hokkai-Gakuen University and General Director of the Fukinoto Bunko, introduced the activities of the Fukinoto Bunko and their problems. The Fukinoto Bunko has produced books made of cloth and books in large print since the 1970s in Hokkaido. The problems are the aging of active members and the lack of official assistance.

After the second stage, Mr. Tronbacke gave comments on and advice for the activities to develop books for children with special needs in Japan. At the end of the symposium, there was a lively discussion between Mr. Tronbacke and the floor.

This symposium helped the participants to realize the problems to be overcome in the development of books for children with special needs in Japan. To offer every child the joy of reading, however, we have to continue to work to overcome these obstacles one by one for the further development of books for children with special needs in our country.

Exchange of children's literature between Paris and Moscow -to the Exhibition "Russian children's literature" held at the ILCL

Himiko Suematsu

As we look back on exhibitions of Russian children's books held in France, it can be said that the Forney Library's exhibition of 1997, "Russian and Soviet Children's Books 1917-1945," is one of the best-known. It was made possible by the efforts of Françoise Lévêque, a staff member of the "Bibliothèque L'Heure Joyeuse" (a public juvenile library in Paris), who had been impressed by Russian children's books and had collected them for years. Today, thanks to her efforts, the Bibliothèque L'Heure Joyeuse is famous for its Russian children's book collection.

Russian children's books have influenced French children's books. A good example is the series of French picture books, "Castor Picture Books," published since 1931. Paul Faucher, editor of the series, was impressed by colorful Russian children's books and got the idea for the series from them. Many Russian-born illustrators, including Parain, Bilibin, Altman and others, drew pictures for this series. In particular, Parain is famous for her book "Baba Yaga" in this series.

Many children's books have been introduced and translated between Russia and France for years. In France not only well-known novelists such as Tolstoi and Chekhov but also many young adult novelists including Kataev, Bianki, and Kaverin were translated in the 1970s. Today, a new wave of Russian fiction called "Slavic Fantasy" has attracted many young French adults. Conversely, in Russia, in addition to Hugo and Verne, contemporary French children's book writers including Tournier and Pennac have been translated into Russian. Exchange of researchers on children's books between the two countries has also been gradually becoming active. The two countries' children's literature has had a history of exchange and close connection from over a hundred years ago up until today.