The Center for Children’s Books celebrates 75 years

open book with Center for Children's Books
Sara Schwebel
Sara L. Schwebel, Professor and Director of the Center for Children's Books

A crossroads for critical inquiry, professional training, and educational outreach, the iSchool’s Center for Children's Books (CCB) is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. In its dual role as research collection and educational community, the Center has a national impact on the future of reading and readers. The CCB supports its mission by providing space, staff, and other support to affiliates; housing collections and other research tools; and sponsoring outreach, scholarly conferences, and instructional activities. Affiliates include School and University faculty and academic staff, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, and the iSchool's School Librarian Licensure Program.

To commemorate its diamond anniversary, the CCB is holding a virtual lecture series featuring iSchool youth services faculty and alumni speaking about the Center's history and activities, with an emphasis on children's literature, storytelling, diversity, and literacy as a public health issue. The lectures, which are open to all, will be held at 12:00 p.m. CT. Speakers and presentations will include:

  • February 25: "CENTERED: The Life and Times of a Book Review Journal," presented by Professor Emerita Betsy Hearne.
  • March 3: "Storytelling: From Story Times to Epistemological Information Divides," presented by Associate Professor Kate McDowell (MS '99, PhD '07).
  • March 23: "Advocacy and Infographics: Doing the Work for Diversity in Youth Literature and Librarianship," presented by Sarah Park Dahlen (MS '09, PhD '09), associate professor of library and information science at St. Catherine University.
  • April 6, "Books Build Better Brains: Sharing Books as a Public Health Intervention," presented by Dipesh Navsaria (MS '04), pediatrician and medical director of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin.

"Given the focus on the Center's history, it is especially appropriate that three of the speakers were students of the fourth, longtime CCB director and Bulletin editor Professor Emerita Betsy Hearne," said Professor and CCB Director Sara L. Schwebel. "The Center for Children's Books has been led by a series of remarkable women who enjoyed long associations with the Center and its Bulletin, including Zena Sutherland, Betsy Hearne, and Deborah Stevenson—all of whom commanded tremendous industry-wide respect in the world of children's books. During the most recent decade, the iSchool has welcomed four new youth services faculty members with diverse research interests and disciplinary backgrounds. As we celebrate the many successes of the CCB over the past 75 years, we are also engaged in strategic planning with an eye to the future."

More information about the anniversary celebration is available on the CCB website

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Carter to lead student affairs

April Carter has joined the iSchool as assistant dean for student affairs. In her new position, she will provide strategic direction and support academic advising, career services, and enrichment of the student experience.

April Carter

iSchool researchers present at 4S 2023

iSchool faculty, staff, and students presented their research at the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) annual conference, which was held from November 8-11 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The society is an international, nonprofit association that fosters interdisciplinary scholarship in social studies of science, technology, and medicine. 

iSchool researchers to present at Charleston Conference

iSchool faculty, staff, and students will participate in the 2023 Charleston Conference, which will be held November 6-10 in Charleston, South Carolina. The conference is an annual gathering that draws librarians, publishers, vendors, and others to discuss issues relating to the acquisition of books and serials. 

CCB holds fall book sale

Readers looking to boost their classroom or home book collections can select from hundreds of titles at the Center for Children’s Books Fall Book Sale on Saturday, November 4. The sale will primarily feature middle grade and young adult fiction and nonfiction, with paperback books $2 each, hardcover books $5 each, and other items priced as marked.

stack of books for sale

FABRIC project announces high-speed network infrastructure expansion

The NSF-funded FABRIC project has completed installation of a unique network infrastructure connection, called the TeraCore—a ring spanning the continental U.S.—which boasts data transmission speeds of 1.2 Terabits per second (Tbps), or one trillion bits per second. Anita Nikolich, director of research and technology innovation and research scientist in the iSchool at Illinois, serves as co-principal investigator on the project.