Donna Harsh Collection
A Brief History of the Juvenile and Harsh Collections of
Forsyth Library at Fort Hays State University
Since FHSU was originally conceived as normal school (a branch of the Emporia Normal School), a juvenile collection was present at the creation of the first library. The formal Juvenile Collection had grown to a size of 16,526 volumes as of July, 2004. During the months of July and August, 2004, the first de-selection process was implemented on this collection, and another 3,013 titles were withdrawn due to physical condition or relevance of material. Though certain authors and subjects had not stood the test of time, representative examples of these types of material were retained for historical purposes. All award winning books were retained. The Juvenile Collection is now a relevant and useful assemblage of 12,492 titles. New materials are selected mainly through those titles listed in Booklist (April 15th issue) which gives the Best Books for Youth published during the previous year. A monographic book budget of $1,000.00 has been maintained for several years. Action Plan monies have been requested for the past two consecutive years to purchase juvenile reference sources, and an additional $1,000.00 per year has been granted for this purpose. Yankee Book offers a Children’s Awards Book Collection Plan, and this “standing order” has provided titles which are not charged against the regular Juvenile Department’s book budget. We have selected to receive the following award books: Boston Globe-Horn Book, Coretta Scott King, John Newbery, Mildred L. Batchelder, Randolph Caldecott, Bura Belpre, Canadian Library Association, and Michael L. Printz.
The Harsh Collection was created in 1987 with an initial gift of 8,000 juvenile titles donated by Mrs. Donna Harsh who was a faculty member of the FHSU Department of Education. A room of handcrafted wooden paneling and shelving was created in Forsyth Library to house this collection. Donna Harsh has continued to contribute to this collection each year, and it now houses a total of 12,429 items.
The Juvenile/Harsh Collections now have a total count of 24,921 items, and beginning in 1995 the cataloger began adding specialized notes and subject headings to each cataloging record to provide more information to the patron. If the author, illustrator, or setting of the book were other than American, this was added to each record, and either the age or grade level of the book was also provided. Approximately 1/3 of the Juvenile/Harsh Collection prior to 1995 have also had this information added to their cataloging records.
by Jerry Wilson, head cataloger
News Articles:
copyright permission given by
University Leader & Hays Daily News (04/2007)
