The International Children's Digital Library Announces Creation of Special Collection in Affiliation with the Northeast Children's Literature Collection (NCLC) at the University of Connecticut

The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) (www.childrenslibrary.org), which is the world's largest collection of children's literature available freely on the Internet, today announced the new Special Collection created in collaboration with the Northeast Children's Literature Collection (NCLC) at the University of Connecticut.

Boston (PRWEB) August 6, 2008 -- The International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) (www.childrenslibrary.org), which is the world's largest collection of children's literature available freely on the Internet, today announced the new Special Collection created in collaboration with the Northeast Children's Literature Collection (NCLC) at the University of Connecticut. In addition to the Special Collection from the Children's Literature Research Center (CLRC) at the University of Minnesota, this Special Collection was created with funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

The majority of the books in the Special Collection are written by German author and illustrator, Hans Wilhelm, who currently resides in Weston, Connecticut. Wilhelm is the author of over two-hundred books, with over 35 million books in press. As the Wilhelm books were written for a young children's audience, the characters in the books are all animals. Some of the characters around which Wilhelm's stories are centered include a mischievous dinosaur named Tyrone, and Waldo, a dog who explains many of the world's mysteries in full detail.    

This is important because maintaining these works of children's literature in their original language allows for broader access across our (the International Children's Digital Library's) audience. It's necessary that we recognize the fact that many of the children who cannot read English can read these other languages, and that these books would also appeal to them.

In addition to the Wilhelm books, the other works of children's literature included in the collection are Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book, Orange Fairy Book, and Grey Fairy Book, which each compile popular fairytales; Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie; and Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. Along with their English counterparts, many of the books in the Special Collection were originally published in French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Swedish, and Portuguese.

Dr. Ann Carlson Weeks, one of the directors of the International Children's Digital Library refers to the many languages of the collection; "This is important because maintaining these works of children's literature in their original language allows for broader access across our (the International Children's Digital Library's) audience. It's necessary that we recognize the fact that many of the children who cannot read English can read these other languages, and that these books would also appeal to them."

The curator of the Northeast Children's Literature Collection (NCLC), Terri Goldich, can be reached by email: terri.goldich @ uconn.edu.

About ICDL
Founded in 2002, the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) has the world's largest collection of children's literature available freely on the Internet. Funded initially by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and Microsoft Research, ICDL debuted at an international celebration at the Library of Congress. The mission of the non-profit ICDL Foundation is to identify exemplary books that help children to understand the world around them and the global society in which they live and make them freely available on the Internet. The materials in its collection, all presented in at least the original languages in which they were published, reflect similarities and differences in cultures, societies, interests, and lifestyles of peoples around the world. For more information, please visit ICDL on the Web at www.childrenslibrary.org.

Media Contact:
Candace Quackenbos
Version 2.0 Communications
for International Children's Digital Library
(617) 426-2222 x114
cquackenbos @ v2comms.com

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