Children's books

History of the collection: The exact origin of the collection is unknown.
Size: The collection comprises approximately 95,000 titles.
Accessibility: A substantial part of the collection can be accessed via the online public catalogue; the rest are listed in the card catalogue. One advantage of the (card) subject catalogue is that the texts are arranged according to language and year of publication. Children's books are generally for library use only. Also see the Central File of Children's Books (Dutch) with at least 100,000 bibliographical records of Dutch children's books, periodicals and audiovisual materials located in six major libraries, including the KB.

The collection

On 20 May 1969, CF van Veen, the famous collector of children's books and prints, treated the fortieth library congress to a stimulating speech on his favourite topic [in De openbare bibliotheek 12 (1969) 6, pp. 248-264], in which he repeatedly criticized the Koninklijke Bibliotheek for its attitude towards early children's books. Apparently it was impossible to know what early children's books the KB had, since they weren't catalogued, and the binding left much to be desired as well. A brief answer (ibid., p. 360) from the deputy librarian of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek let it be known that quite soon all the items, 'approximately 5,500 in number', would be accessible. That was the way things stood in 1969.
Van Veen makes reference to a Van der Made collection, which was supposed to be housed in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Not a trace of this collection can be found. The earliest known donation dates from 1927, when the heirs of the Rotterdam teacher MA de Goeje, a well-known author of children's books who wrote under the pseudonym Agatha, left her entire oeuvre of approximately 125 titles to the KB. Other famous acquisitions are the 250 titles from FG Waller's collection of Dutch and Flemish chapbooks, part of the 1,500-title collection of Gerrit Jacob Boekenoogen, auctioned in 1943, and a number of fine specimens from the collection of the quoted CF van Veen that came under the hammer in 1984. One very important gift was made by the Public Library of The Hague in 1943, which provided the KB collection with a superb addition of 18th- and 19th-century children's books. Public libraries in general have always been happy to donate older and no longer desired material. And then there are the acquisitions from the duplicates list of the Netherlands Public Library Association (NBLC).

In 1997, the Koninklijke Bibliotheek received on loan the collection of children's books of the former Informatiecentrum Boek en Jeugd (Book and Youth Information Centre), which was part of the NBLC. Boek en Jeugd was integrated into the Literary Museum in 1997. The NBLC transferred the Boek en Jeugd collections to the Literary Museum, which in turn gave this vast and interesting collection of 75,000 children's books to the Koninklijke Bibliotheek on long-term loan.

All this growth has resulted in a children's book collection numbering 95,000 titles. The size of the collection is steadily increasing, which is hardly surprising, due in no small degree to regular donations by private individuals -- people who have noticed the increased attention being paid to children's books in recent years and have become aware of how valuable their property is for the library repository. The purchasing policy has been expanded recently as well, with the accent mainly on earlier Dutch children's books. Secondary literature is also being acquired, including general works on foreign children's books. With the establishment of the Deposit Library, Dutch children's books have been fully represented since the 1970s.

Literature

• R. van de Vijver. Zoeken naar kinderboeken : een inventarisatie van collecties kinderboeken in Nederland. Leiden: Rijksuniversiteit Leiden, Sectie Kind en Media, 1993, 75 p.
  
• P.J. Buijnsters and Leontine Buijnsters-Smets. Bibliografie van Nederlandse school- en kinderboeken 1700-1800. Zwolle: Waanders, 1997, 318 p.
  
• 'G.J. Boekenoogen, taalkundige 1868-1930'. In: Verzamelaars en verzamelingen. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1789-1998. Zwolle: Waanders, 1998, pp. 93-96.
  
• 'Boek en Jeugd'. In: Verzamelaars en verzamelingen. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, 1789-1998. Zwolle: Waanders, 1998, pp. 206-208.