Library Services for Children

The San Anselmo Public Library has always had a strong focus on services, programs and book acquisitions for children. Programming for children began within five months of the 1915 opening with a summer reading program. When the library opened, the main reading room was divided by bookcases into adult and children’s areas. As the collection grew, the “Carnegie Lecture Room” (or Library Hall) in the basement was converted in the early 1950s into the Children’s Room and dedicated children’s librarians were hired. Renée Hayes, former San Anselmo librarian, recalled in an oral history interview visiting the Children’s Room as a young girl and going down the stairs on Library Place to the “nice, cool, big room with a great librarian.”

Jean Merian was appointed as the children’s librarian in 1958. She had been assistant for three years to Esther Leatherwood who resigned due to ill health. Mrs. Merian was paid $185 a month for a 20-22 hour work week. She retired in 1978 after serving for 25 years. She was remembered in 2012 by author Annie Barrows as “everything a children’s librarian should be: kind, soft-spoken, and meticulous.” Barrows went on to write that Merian “had a profound affection for children’s literature and a belief in the transformational effects of reading in general, but her greatest gift may have been her ability to select the right book for each child who came across the yellow linoleum floor of the Children’s Room.”

The Children’s Room moved upstairs in 1978. Constant dampness was a factor, but the retirement of Jean Merian also coincided with the passage of Proposition 13 (Jarvis-Gann Initiative) and the severe reduction in funds which would limit open hours and staffing of the Children’s Room. It was also thought that the move would give children access to the library during all open hours and make the complete collection available to all in one place. The staff workroom was relocated to the basement.