Education

The library is also home to a children's literature collection called the “J. Robert and Alice R. Dornish Collection.” Books in this collection will show up in your online catalog searches.

What is it? Dr. Dornish was a professor in Kutztown University's College of Education. During his life, he built a significant collection of children's literature. He and his wife donated part of the collection to the Rohrbach Library between 2001-2019.

Where is it? Any books that were donated and were first editions, rare books, or contained signatures of authors and illustrators were added to The Dornish Collection and are stored in secure locations in the library. A portion of these books are on display on the first floor to the right of the elevator and steps. Any books that were not added to The Dornish Collection were reviewed by librarians and many were added to the Library Science Collection so that our students could use them.

How can I read the books?

• Dornish Collection books: The staff and students the Information Commons Desk will retrieve Dornish Collection item(s) for you. You must use the books here in the Library.
• Library Science Collection books: Books that were added to the Library Science Collection will circulate as a regular item from that collection, and they can be taken out of the building.

Online Resources for Children's Literature:

DATABASE Children's Literature Comprehensive Database(CLCD): This is a fantastic, fully searchable database of children's literature titles, reviews, and related information! You can search by subject or title, and the database provides a wide variety of search limits to help you find just the right books for your needs. KU authentication is required to use this database.
(A 30-minute tour of CLCD by Karen Wanamaker. Note: The library's website has changed--click on the A-Z Databases link directly below the search boxes now.)

DATABASE Teaching Books - One stop provides resources for books you are reading and teaching, including author and illustrator interviews, lesson plans, and other enrichment content.

DATABASE Gale Literature – This database includes access to critical reviews, biographies, news, and media relating to literature, including children’s literature. You can search for a topic, author, or title. KU authentication is required.

ONLINE BOOKS:
1. MackinVIA: We have access to digital collections of children's literature through EBSCO and through a consortium package with MackinVIA. Both collections will show up in our online catalog results, and to get to the books, you click on the link in the catalog record.

KU patrons also can browse the books we get through MackinVIA by going to:

https://kutztown.mackinvia.com/dashboard and authenticating with your KU login.

• Some books are ebooks (you can see each page and read it digitally) and others are audiobooks (only the cover is shown while you listen to the book).
• Use the links on the left to see books by category or a list of all resources.
• Search for a topic or book by using the search box at the top right.
• If a book is marked as "out", another patron is using it. You may request the book by clicking on "request" to the right of the book.

2. EPIC: EPIC's website is another way to locate online children's books. We do not have a campus-wide subscription to this, but EPIC has free access to some books. KU students and faculty can subscribe for access individually to obtain the ability to create classrooms and use the educator tools. 
 

WEBSITES: These websites can help you locate children's literature by subject or themes for creating text sets:

OTHER LISTS: National teacher associations, textbook publishers, and children's literature research centers also have great recommendations for books in certain disciplines:

• ALSC Notable Books lists: Association for Library Service to Children lists best of the best in children's books, recordings, and digital media.
• NCTE/Children's Literature Assembly Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts 
• NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Books For Young People (must be a member to see lists).
• Everyday Mathematics provides recommended titles by grade
• NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12
• The Children's Literature Association provides links to lots of resources related to children's literature.

The Children's Book Council has a great list of publisher sites with, "fun and educational resources, activities, discussion guides, teacher guides and more to share with children of all ages" 

Evaluating Children's Literature When incorporating children's literature into your curriculum, you want to include books that have diverse characters. However, it is critical to avoid children's literature with bias or stereotypes. These resources will help you to understand what to look for and give you examples of what to use.

American Library Association:

• The American Library Association (ALA) website contains an extensive, alphabetical list for all of their ALA Book, Print & Media Awards (think Newbery, Caldecott, etc. plus so many, many more).
• Part of ALA, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) also produces a nice list of Notable Children's Books each year.

Some of the most well known awards include:

The following lists show which titles we have at the Rohrbach Library for various awards and types of books. Call numbers are included. While we try to update these lists annually, to find all the titles we have at any given time, please ask a librarian or use the online catalog. 

Mentor texts are examples of good writing that students can read and use as a model for their own writing.

These mentor texts can be published trade books, poems, lyrics, articles (newspaper, magazine, journal), or a variety of other writings--anything that demonstrates good elements of writing worthy of emulation. 

If you are looking for some mentor texts to use with lessons, we have resources in the Curriculum Materials Center collection that can help. Search for "mentor text" in the online catalog or ask a librarian for assistance. There are also several helpful websites linked below.

Finding Leveled Books

• In the CMC kit room: The CMC has sets of leveled books in the kit room. Look for the "Leveled Books" sign on the shelves. You will see some in blue boxes, some in yellow bins, and others in plastic bags. 
• In The Library Science Collection: Our children's literature collection has tons of books that can be used for guided reading and for literacy lessons, but they are organized alphabetically for fiction and arranged using Dewey Decimal Classification for non-fiction. Once you have identified a children's book that would work for your level, use the online catalog to search for the title to see if we have that book and locate the call number.
• In CLCD: Many of the book records in the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database (CLCD) list Lexile ranges and other measurement program information. 
• Online: See the links below for websites that can help you. 

Locating folklore and fairy tales in the Rohrbach Library

The best way to locate materials in any of our collections is to use the online catalog or ask a librarian for assistance.

• In our children's literature collection (Library Science Collection), stories can be found at Dewey Decimal number 398.2+
• In our Curriculum Materials Center and Main Collection, information about folklore and storytelling is located at call numbers that start with GR, LB1575-1576, and PN

Search our Streaming video providers. One example from Kanopy that might be of particular interest is:
Fairy-Tale Heroines--New-Style Princesses: "Cinderella. Snow White. Rapunzel. These fairy-tale heroines are imbued in our cultural consciousness. What lessons are they meant to teach? And do these lessons align with our current cultural values? Study the composite fairy-tale heroine, both in the classic fairy tales and in modern revisions from authors such as Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood."

Helpful Databases, journals, and websites for researching Folklore: