Frances Jenkins Olcott

Frances Jenkins Olcott (1872 – 29 March 1963) was the first head librarian of the children's department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in 1898. She also wrote many children's books and books for those in the profession of providing library service to children and youth.

Early life

Olcott was born in 1872 in Paris, France near the Garden of the Batignolles. She later lived in Albany, New York at both her parents' and grandmother's houses; this was followed by years in the country suburbs of Albany where she was tutored by her parents who provided her with a formative education. Her children's department was a laboratory where she and her staff tested methods, evolved standards, and worked out problems regarding reading engagement, content selection, and material organization. Her team's results were published and shared with other libraries and schools; her educationally minded staff with two expert bibliographers helped eventually create what became her Carnegie-supported Training School for Children's Librarians.

Olcott started outreach programs to bring books into homes, schools, detention centers, and beyond. Her efforts helped a large immigrant population at the time learn how to adapt to a new country. She promoted the idea of having home libraries for children, and she and her colleagues would set up a reading hour where groups of children would meet in a home in the community to be read to by the librarians.

Works

1898 "Fairy Tales for Children", bibliography 1905 "Rational Library Work and the Preparation for It" 1909 "Story Telling: A Public Library Method" 1910 "The Public Library: A Social Force in Pittsburgh" 1912 The Children's Reading 1913 The Arabian Nights' Entertainments, translated by Edward William Lane; selected, ed., and arranged by Olcott; illustrated by Monro S. Orr 1913 Story-telling Poems 1914 Good Stories for Great Holidays 1914 "Library Work with Children", American Library Association 1915 More Tales from the Arabian Nights, transl. Lane, ed. Olcott, illus. Willy Pogány 1915 The Jolly Book for Boys and Girls, eds. Olcott and Amena Pendleton, illus. Amy M. Sacker 1917 Tales of the Persian Genii, illus. Willy Pogány 1917 The Red Indian Fairy Book, illus. Frederick Richardson 1918 The Book of Elves and Fairies, illus. Milo Winter 1919 The Wonder Garden: Nature Myths and Tales from All the World Over, illus. Milo Winter 1920 Story-telling Ballads, Selected and Arranged, illus. Milo Winter 1922 Grimm's Fairy Tales, illus. Rie Cramer 1922 Good Stories for Great Birthdays 1922 Stories about George Washington: with a selection of famous poems 1925 Wonder Tales from China Seas, illus. Dugald Stewart Walker 1926 Wonder Tales from Windmill Lands, illus. Herman Rosse 1927 Wonder Tales from Pirate Isles, illus. Herman Rosse 1928 Wonder Tales from Baltic Wizards, illus. Victor G. Candell 1929 Wonder Tales from Fairy Isles, illus. Constance Whittemore 1930 Wonder Tales from Goblin Hills, illus. Harold Sichel,