The McConnell Center for the Study of Youth Literature Sharing and fostering a love of reading |
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The McConnell Center for the Study of Youth Literature, named after beloved educator and mentor Anne McConnell, was created and is maintained to serve as a unique examination, study, and research library of the School of Library and Information Science at the University of Kentucky. The McConnell Center supports teaching, learning and research related to children's and teen/young adult literature by serving as a resource for UK students, UK faculty, researchers, public librarians, school librarians, teachers, child care providers, parents, authors and illustrators of youth literature, and other adults who work with children. A vital gathering place for books and ideas, the McConnell Center is committed to identifying excellent literature for children and adolescents and to bringing this literature to the attention of those adults who have an academic, professional, career, or personal interest in connecting young readers with books. The McConnell Center's non-circulating collections include current, retrospective, and historical books published for children and teens/young adults. The Current Collection includes review copies of trade books published in the United States for children and teens/young adults during the past 12 months. An attempt is made to acquire virtually all books in this category. The McConnell Center Current Collection is non-circulating and organized by genre: picture books, fiction and non-fiction. This collection is not catalogued and is not electronically searchable. Unlike most library collections, these books have not been evaluated and selected by professional librarians. The Current Collection is simply a record of what has been published for children and teens/young adults in the past 12 months. These books are available for examination as an aid in making purchasing decisions or as a tool to expand current knowledge of trends in children's and teen/young adult literature. The McConnell Center is happy to provide working professionals with the opportunity to evaluate first-hand those books they are thinking of purchasing. The Permanent Collections are non-circulating and consist of those books published more than 12 months ago that have been retained in the McConnell Center due to their significance to the collection. Award-winning, notable, historic, local, or regional books are retained. Reference materials and periodicals are also available to aid in retrospective collection development, professional development, or research in the field.
The McConnell Youth Literature Conference The McConnell Center hosts the annual McConnell Youth Literature Conference held in Lexington, KY. The McConnell Conference draws librarians, teachers, and other professionals who work with youth to share ideas, examine materials, and meet authors, illustrators, and other leaders in the field of Youth Literature. The New Book Exhibit and the accompanying free bibliography are made available for examination at the McConnell Youth Literature Conference. The 2009 McConnell Literature Conference will be held February 27-28 at the Griffin Gate Mariott in Lexington. Check back in late fall for additional conference information and registration. The Center for the Study of Children's Literature was established in 1983 by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA) and the University of Kentucky School of Library and Information Science. The Center was later rechristened The McConnell Center for the Study of Children's Literature in honor of Professor Emerita Anne Y. McConnell. In 2006, the name was altered to reflect the full range of the resources in the collection. The McConnell Center for the Study of Youth Literature contains materials appropriate for children (birth through 12 years of age) and teens or young adults (12 through 18 years of age). Click here for A Tribute to Anne Y. McConnell written by SLIS Professor Dennis Carrigan. Staff Bios
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