"Growing old is quite a responsibility... and so many people make such a mess of it."

Public Domain photograph via Wikimedia Commons

• LIBRARIAN who invented the modern children's library
• New York Public Library's FIRST Supervisor of Work with Children, managing the children's libraries in 36 branches across the city
• Majored in library science (then a brand new field) at Pratt Institute; hired by Pratt after graduation to head its new Children's Library
• Studied children in a variety of environments, including schools, neighborhoods, and settlement houses (where many of the poorer children were), to design the library in a way that maximized interest and engagement
  
• ENDED the common practices of locking kids' books in glass cases and the rigid enforcement of silence, emphasizing respect for children and childhood
• Established the now standard practices of themed library exhibits, bringing natural elements such as small wildlife and flowers into the space, and having children sign a pledge to care for the books and follow the rules
• Invited renowned authors to speak and read, including Dr. Seuss, Carl Sandburg, and P. L. Travers
• Featured children's books from around the world, including those in the native languages of immigrant children who frequented the library
• Founded the FIRST Children's Book Week in 1919, an annual tradition that continues today
• Her lists of suggested books, including "Children's Books Suggested As Holiday Gifts," were published annually and considered the coveted seal of approval for publishers, authors, and artists
• The first children's library in Europe, opened in Sweden in 1911, was modeled directly after Moore's at the NYPL
• Mentored countless librarians, many of whom became directors of other libraries across the globe, as well as publishers and editors of children's literature
• Considered by many to be the FIRST children's literature critic
• Friend and advocate of Beatrix Potter; wrote the introduction to the biography The Art of Beatrix Potter
• Winner of the FIRST Constance Lindsay Skinner Medal from the Women's National Book Association, and second recipient of the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal
• Never married, but helped raise her brother's children after their mother died, and later did the same for two other nieces when their father (her brother) died
• After 35 years, Moore retired from NYPL at the age of 70, and spent the rest of her life writing, guest lecturing, and consulting for literary magazines and new children's libraries

Above and Beyond

As a child, Leo Frank was one of Moore's favorite visitors to the library. In 1913, this Jewish New Yorker, who was now grown and had moved to Georgia to work as a factory superintendent, was charged with murder when the body of a girl was found in the basement of the factory where he worked. Frank pleaded not guilty, but the highly publicized case caused many to call for the death penalty, motivated primarily by anti-Semitism and Southern prejudice against Northerners. Convinced of his innocence, Moore lobbied for his defense and pardon, gathering reference letters and statements of character, and even visited him in jail. Frank's sentence was commuted to life in prison, but in 1915 a mob broke into the jail and killed him.

Bibliography: Sayers, Frances Clarke. Anne Carroll Moore. New York: Atheneum, 1972. Print.
The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts. Anne Carroll Moore papers. http://archives.nypl.org/mss/2048#bioghist

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