Johnson, Valerie Life after Fenwick: the rise, fall and future of library services for children in Australia.

Johnson, Valerie Life after Fenwick: the rise, fall and future of library services for children in Australia. Adelaide Auslib Press, 2007. ISBN 97809803330106 Price $44.00 plus $6.60p&h

Library services to children come under the microscope as Johnson traces this largely untold story from the late 1800s, through Sara Fenwick's 1966 report, until the present time. Johnson looks at the social change required to move from the early mechanics institutes' user pays services to government supported school and public library models. She also discusses the duality, and sometimes conflict, arising out of the growth of school and public library services to children.

The Children's Section of the Library Association of Australia was concerned about the funding, profile and resources needed to provide effective children's library services. In 1964 it arranged for Professor Sara Fenwick, a Fulbright lecturer from the University of Chicago Graduate Library School to spend six months in Australia surveying school and public library services to children. Her subsequent 1966 report highlighted the need for improved government funding, greater cooperation between school and public libraries and an emphasised the importance of professional training and development for library staff working with children.

Johnson showcases the way library service provision in Victoria and Tasmania grew during the 1970s in response to the Fenwick Report--but without the corresponding provision of well trained library staff. The controversial issues surrounding the employment of specialist children's staff are canvassed in a discussion of State Librarian of Tasmania Laurie Brown's changes to the children's library services originally established by the Lady Clark Memorial. This resulted in the abolition of the Lady Clark Librarian, a position which had oversight of children's library services across the state. Removing this influential position increased the perception that children's services were not important. Budget restrictions in the 1980s and 1990s led to centralisation of services and to an increase in joint use libraries. The 1990s also saw budget allocations geared to the uptake of electronic information storage and retrieval.

Johnson suggests that management, in both schools and public libraries, has not valued specialists in the children's area which in turn has led to a further devaluation of children's services. She concludes that at the beginning of the 21st century children's library services still face two major issues spelt out in 1966 by Fenwick--lack of funding and a lack of well trained specialist librarians. We could add the third of Fenwick's recommendations, cooperation between school and public libraries, as another area still in need of much work.

Life after Fenwick is not an easy read, in either a literal or figurative sense. The common threads traced throughout the history of children's library services in Australia are rather fittingly summed up by Johnson's final words, a quote from the Bible

   We are given no straw, but still we have to make
   bricks (Exodus 5:16)

Many children's and youth librarians, as well as teacher librarians, would agree that they are still making bricks without straw--providing services without adequate funding, resources or training. However, Life after Fenwick has a significant contribution to make in helping to prepare well trained professional children's specialists. It provides a very accessible overview of the important milestones, especially in the areas of the major library reports and changes to funding policy at state and federal levels. The appendices contain a wealth of material collected through literature reviews and surveys. The index gives good access to the people, events and policies discussed and makes the book a very useful resource for library students, and researchers.

The Fenwick Report had a significant impact on the provision of services to children in the 1970s, but unfortunately the momentum has since been lost. Johnson's book should be used as a call to arms and to give impetus to improving present and future library services to children. Forty years on from Fenwick's historic visit we have to ask ourselves, if Fenwick were to visit Australia today would her identification of the needs and her conclusions be any different?

Carolyn Bourke

Community and Outreach Librarian--Children and Youth Fairfield Library Service NSW