From 1919 to 1948, Louise Payson Latimer was the Director of Work with Children at the Washington (DC) Public Library. Latimer received frequent requests for “hard-to-access visual material” as well as general community members who were interested in the illustrations within children’s books during her tenure with the system. This prompted her to initiate the DC Public Library’s Illustrator Collection. At the time, Latimer recommended that the library purchase upwards of 800 picture books that she deemed worthy of “merit”. The collection now houses upwards of 20,000 primarily British and American books, many of which are first editions.
To find out more about this interesting and unique collection, I interviewed Wendy Lukehart. Wendy is the Youth Collections Coordinator at DC Public Library and author of the article Louise Payson Latimer: Pioneer of Library Service to Children in Washington, DC. Wendy has become a fierce advocate for the collection, and one of its chief curators during her time with DCPL. Our interview is summarized below.
Q: How did you get started with the illustrator collection?
A: In the original Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, the collection was housed within the children’s room. However, as the children’s collection grew, the space was needed for circulating items. The collection was then moved to storage. Unfortunately, some of the items were not stored properly when they were moved. Thankfully ALA was able to send a group of volunteers to help with cleaning and maintaining the collection when Annual was hosted in DC. This was around the time that the library closed for a major renovation, and a new space needed planning.
At that point, Wendy became involved. “I’m the person that cared, and I just see the value of it in so many ways. I want it to be used and appreciated,” she said. She quickly became the head of reorganizing, cataloging, and maintaining the collection in the new library space, and is always in the process of reorganizing as it is continually growing and changing.
Q: Who are the target audiences of the collection?
A: Wendy shared that scholars or historians might find the collection of value for its social and historical context. However, a much larger audience could find the collection useful as well. Professionals such as illustrators, journalists, and professors. Even more generally, any children’s illustration enthusiast might enjoy the array of titles housed. Wendy shared that there are some books that show the progression of an artist’s portfolio. Named examples included Cooper Arkhurst’s 1964 The Adventures of Spider, which is Jerry Pinkney’s first foray into children’s illustration.
Q: What do you see as the value of this collection?
A: Wendy highlighted three main points, the first of which being price. This year, Wendy worked with the National Building Museum to loan out several items from the Illustrator Collection. The titles ranged in value from $25 up to $1,500. Wendy also stressed the societal value of the collection stating, the illustrated books “reflect the cultural and societal norms of the time.” She provided an example of a 1956 book Our Friend the Atom published by Disney, which glorified the use of atomic energy. She continued, “People always want to teach children things, whether the message is overt or not.” Wendy’s final point was the aesthetic value of the collection. To put it plainly, there are “so many gorgeous books in there,” she gushed.
Q: What do you want people to know as sort of the “biggest takeaway” of the collection?
A: The range of illustrators represented within the collection is a big highlight for Wendy. She shared that there are illustrators that are well known and expected like Randolph Caldecott or NC Wyeth, but that there are also “surprises” like a title illustrated by Salvador Dali. Wendy also emphasized the vast reference resources relating to children’s illustrators, as well as their large periodical collection.
It was clear from our brief interview that Wendy is extremely passionate about the collection. She has worked tirelessly to continue to highlight the value that the collection has not only on the immediate DC community, but on children’s illustration as a whole. It was truly an honor to hear about this important work, and to see some of the collection up close and personal. As Wendy shared, each collection of children’s work such as this holds its own unique value and mert, and they are all valuable reference sources.
This post addresses ALSC Core Competencies 4.1, 4.6, 4.10, and 7.2
Annaliese Melvin (she/they) is a children’s librarian at a neighborhood library in Washington, D.C. Originally from Pennsylvania, she moved to the DC-area in 2020 to become a special education teacher after graduating with her bachelor’s from Arcadia University. In 2023, she graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a master’s degree in Library and Information Science and transitioned into the library field. Annaliese currently works to bring more inclusive programming to DC Public Libraries for children of all ages. She is passionate about equity, inclusion, reading, and Philadelphia sports.
Suzi Wackerbarth
AMAZING. Thanks, A, for highlighting such an important collection. I’ve spent some time with it, as picture books are my specialty.