The Inside-Outside Book of Libraries

A comprehensive look at libraries, the purposes they serve, and their history demonstrates the various types of libraries, from the vast Library of Congress to a personal library at home, and offers predictions about the future of libraries.

Grade 1-4?From the cover's imposing view of one of the New York Public Library's lion guardians to the picture of a small table of books in a child's room, this title covers a vast array of libraries whose holdings, regardless of their size, open up whole new worlds for their users. Thirteen very different U.S. libraries are explored, most in a double-page spread that introduces the architectural exterior of the building, followed by another two-page illustration highlighting its interior features. The concise text explains the major facets of each facility that distinguish it from other types; often fascinating facts are included. For example, Cummins explains how the Library of Congress's collection grows "at the rate of ten new items per minute." She tells of "down home" libraries, such as the one-room facility on Ocracoke Island, NC, and explains that the World Wide Web connects library patrons across continents. This book will appeal to an older audience than Gail Gibbons's Check It Out! (Harcourt, 1985) or Anne Rockwell's I Like the Library (Dutton, 1977; o.p.). Cummins's text flows smoothly and is easy to comprehend, and the vast array of facilities discussed will add greatly to children's understanding of the concept of library services. Munro's excellent watercolor illustrations are extremely detailed and reveal an incredible sense of each architectural space. Her paintings are colorful and bright, and the patrons with which she peoples each library represent a balance of genders, races, and ethnic backgrounds. An excellent portrayal of libraries as the important and exciting places that they are.?Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Munro adds to her Inside-Outside series with this portfolio of libraries located throughout this country, lavishing on each her customary affection for architectural details. Two spreads are devoted to each site; the first shows the building's exterior, the second provides a bustling, often brightly hued look at the interior of the library and its patrons. The choices here are imaginative: the tiny one-room library on Ocracoke Island, N.C.; the library tucked below the flight deck on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln; and the library in California's Folsom prison. Other selections expand popular perceptions of libraries: there's a lending "library" that circulates tools instead of books; and the Internet, "a library without walls." Cummins, the coordinator of children's services for the New York Public Library, throws in intriguing nuggets (e.g., the collection at the Library of Congress grows at the rate of 10 new volumes each minute), but she often writes as if she were addressing other librarians, not children: "The value of a library is measured not by floor space or number of books but by its usefulness to the community it serves." The volume boasts one particularly neat element: a segment about New York City's Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped includes a close-up page of a braille book?complete with the raised dots. All ages.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Normally a soloist on the series, Munro (The Inside-Outside Book of Paris, 1992) has a collaborator for this entry that shows all kinds of libraries, from behemoths like the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library to collections on navy ships and in prisons, on bookmobiles and home bookshelves. Among the places included along the way: the Internet, a library for the handicapped, school libraries, a tool-lending library, and a branch library in New York City's Chinatown. The diversity of libraries will be a revelation to young readers and will surprise adults, too. What also comes through clearly is the importance of books and libraries in every place and segment of society. An adequate treatment of a surprisingly fascinating topic. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-10) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 6^-9. Instead of discussing generic school media centers and public libraries, this large-format volume offers a tour of specific American libraries with a wide variety of interesting stops: in New York City, the Chatham Square Library in Chinatown, the Explorers Club library, and the Andrew Heiskell Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; the tiny public library on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina; the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.; the library aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln; in California, the Folsom State Prison Library and the Berkeley Public Library Tool Lending Library; the Meadows Elementary School Library in Plano, Texas; the Internet as "a library without walls" ; and home libraries in houses, apartments, and trailers. Illustrating the clearly written text, Munro's attractive, large ink-and-watercolor-wash pictures bring the varied settings to life; the dust-jacket art, featuring that New York Public Library lion, will draw readers in. Well suited to classroom use, this book provides a lively, colorful introduction to libraries. Carolyn Phelan