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The management of children′s literature is a search for value and suitability. Effective policies in library and educational work are based firmly on knowledge of materials, and on the bibliographical and critical frame within which the materials appear and might best be selected. Boundaries, like those between quality and popular books, and between children′s and adult materials, present important challenges for selection, and implicit in this process are professional acumen and judgement. Yet also there are attitudes and systems of values, which can powerfully influence selection on grounds of morality and good taste. To guard against undue subjectivity, the knowledge frame should acknowledge the relevance of social and experiential context for all reading materials, how readers think as well as how they read, and what explicit and implicit agendas the authors have. The good professional takes all these factors on board.

THE children's magazine was practically dead a few years ago, in fact during the war there was scarcely one worth buying, and there was a real need for something in this class. While books will always have first place, educationists and all interested in children's reading will agree that good periodical literature is a useful adjunct. On account of its regular appearance it encourages the habit of continuous reading among children who are sometimes lured away by out‐door activities in the summer, and by cinema clubs and other distractions in the winter. A good magazine, too, introduces children to a variety of subjects and types of story, thus widening their reading interests before their minds become set. It may be a vehicle for presenting current affairs in a form more suitable than in the daily papers, as has been the policy of The Children's Newspaper for nearly thirty years. A recent issue covered a variety of news calculated to interest boys and girls—a boy's journey by canoe across South America, the erection of a statue to Robin Hood (who probably comes first amongst boyhood's heroes), science news, a report on the United Nations meeting at Lake Success and an editorial on the subject, an explanation of inflation, wages and prices, a photograph of a model of the new House of Commons, articles on Jeremy Bentham, astronomy, the new constitution of Malaya, as well as other features, jokes, and snippets of information. This is good value and would doubtless enliven a current affairs lesson at school, but, as a magazine for general reading and entertainment, it is rather too serious. It is the kind of periodical that parents and well‐meaning friends think their children ought to read, but do they really read it from cover to cover, or do they only pick out the lighter bits ? As a news‐sheet of information it is excellent, but the production and layout would need to be more attractive to make it a favourite.

Publishers are producing new reference sources on film at an astonishing rate. Each week reviews and advertisements appear to announce yet another book. Books vary in scope, subject emphasis, size, price, and of course, quality, and represent both new works and revised or added editions. Not only are American publishers active, but European firms are getting on the bandwagon, too.

THIS is the month when librarians and library workers everywhere, their holidays over, turn to their winter plans. There are, however, some interesting events to take place before the darker and more active months come. The first is the meeting at Oxford on September 21st and subsequent days of the Federation International de Documentation. This will be followed by and merge into the ASLIB Conference, and there is in prospect an attendance of over three hundred. Our readers know that this organization produces and advocates the International Decimal Classification. It is not primarily a “library” society but rather one of abstractors and indexers of material, but it is closely akin, and we hope that English librarianship will be well represented. Then there is a quite important joint‐conference at Lincoln of the Northern Branches of the Library Association on September 30th— October 3rd, which we see is to be opened by the President of the Library Association. Finally the London and Home Counties Branch are to confer at Folkestone from October 14th to 16th, and here, the programme includes Messrs. Jast, Savage, McColvin, Wilks, Carter, and the President will also attend. There are other meetings, and if the question is asked: do not librarians have too many meetings ? we suppose the answer to be that the Association is now so large that local conferences become desirable. One suggestion, that has frequently been made, we repeat. The Library Association should delegate a certain definite problem to each of its branches, asking for a report. These reports should form the basis of the Annual Conference. It is worthy of more consideration.

Library provision for children in specially furnished areas of the library began in the United Kingdom in the late 1890s although this early provision was sketchy. Where they did exist, children′s facilities were often provided in a separate children′s room, often resembling a “cut‐down” adult library. The advent of open‐plan libraries provided areas specially designed and furnished for children of all ages. The influence of Scandinavian and North American children′s library design has been evident for some years. A library′s appearance is now recognized as an important factor in marketing services to children. Despite the problems caused by old and unsuitable buildings, library staff often take considerable care to provide a welcoming environment for children. However, children′s work in the 1980s ad 1990s has had to face cuts in expenditure, staffing levels, hours of opening and in some cases compete with new “priority areas” – services to ethnic minorities; housebound services; business or community information. The children′s librarian with a knowledge of children′s reading needs and library design needs would seem to be a dying breed.

EVEN if library work with the young is the most written, and over‐written, subject in librarianship as is sometimes alleged, it still is the foundation of all library activity and must therefore come under continuous review. To some the subject is as dull as the essay questions set in the Entrance Examinations were alleged to be by a writer in The Library Assistant. To which we reply that all things have a certain dullness to those without sufficient imagination to look at them in other than the most conventional darkness. A Chesterton discourses entrancingly on a piece of chalk and brown paper, an empty train, a piece of string. So with our subject. We therefore make no other apology than this for a number of THE LIBRARY WORLD in which it is our main interest. Our children's libraries are, as yet, far from perfect; they issue too many drivelling books written by authors whose first essays in writing are children's books because they think them to be the easiest to write. The difference between a Ransome and—well, a thousand slush children's books—is as great as the difference between The Vicar of Wakefield and worst railway bookstall novelette. There is a great field being examined here by the more progressive children's librarians. There are many other questions, administrative and personal that have been and are under discussion. The writer of Letters on Our Affairs this month deals with some of these although, we may at once say, his views are not wholly those of THE LIBRARY WORLD.

In 1995 China instituted a 40‐hour work week resulting in what is now called “long weekends.”The purposes of this research was to determine what Chinese children prefer to do during the new long weekend, and the extent of their influence on what the family does. The study was conducted among 618 third and fourth grade children who were asked to “Draw what comes to your mind when you think about the long weekend.” The children were also asked to take home a questionnaire to their parents. The drawings were assessed using content analysis. The drawings mainly show that children want to play, preferably away from home. The results of the questionnaire to the parents reveal that the children pretty much determine what the entire family does on the weekends, and that in general they will go places and do things that provide fun for the children. Some indicators of spending for family weekend leisure were obtained that have significant marketing implications.

OUR various accounts of the Portsmouth Conference, and the official record of it which is now in the hands of readers shows that it may be regarded as a successful one. It was specially notable for the absence of those bickerings and differences which must inevitably come to the surface at times. There may be something in the suggestion of one of our writers that the weather was a main factor. However that may be, there was uniform good temper, and we came away with the belief that a good week's work for librarianship had been done.

Explains the importance of texting in order to market to youth using the highly popular SMS channel. Outlines the guidelines that Flytxt has produced for clients designing a campaign, in order that youngsters are protected from inappropriate content or direct marketing and do not incur excessive costs through premium rate SMS. Shows how SMS can help companies rejuvenate their brands and find new markets. Illustrates this by the Princess Diary Club book series from Macmillan Children’s Books, the Smash Hits text club campaign, Barclays Bank’s youth accounts and its exclusive SMS game, Warner Village Cinemas’ Harry Potter SMS campaign, Kiss 100’s “HeySexy” campaign, the “Sneak” teen gossip magazine, and Comic Relief’s Sports Relief campaign ‐ the first time a UK charity has used SMS for its fundraising.