The digitized version of this collection is from the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books in the Canada Trust Gallery at the Toronto Reference Library. It was an exhibition from April 13 - June 9 of 2002. The collection contains examples from 200 years of children's pop-up and other movable books. I thought that this digital collection/exhibition was done in a creative way. Because it showcases items that are "movable", the website uses a variety of different views of each item to simulate movement.
Collection Principals
The items that were selected for this collection range from the 18th Century until 2001. The website explains that movable books had been in use since the 14th Century to teach Astronomy using movable parts to simulate the movement of the constellations in the night sky. It wasn't until the 18th Century that movable parts were used in children's books. This collection is only a part of the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books that was donated by the British Librarian Edgar Osborne in 1949. The collection contains over 2000 items from a wide variety of examples of early children's literature.
Object Characteristics
Each item was digitized and is played through Adobe Flashplayer 9. Each digitized image also plays for approximately 5 - 10 seconds before resetting and playing again. There are tw
o links per item, the initial picture or icon that demonstrates how the movable book works and the "more information" link that provides viewers with additional bibliographic and narrative information. Some objects, like the lion from German artist Lothar Meggendorfer (1847-1925) include sound effects. All of the objects are from early children's books. Some of the books also included "sound effects" or small air bellows that when activated by pulling a bow or string, the animals or characters in the book would make a sound. According to the website, the air bellows have now been replaced with simple circuitry and batteries.
o links per item, the initial picture or icon that demonstrates how the movable book works and the "more information" link that provides viewers with additional bibliographic and narrative information. Some objects, like the lion from German artist Lothar Meggendorfer (1847-1925) include sound effects. All of the objects are from early children's books. Some of the books also included "sound effects" or small air bellows that when activated by pulling a bow or string, the animals or characters in the book would make a sound. According to the website, the air bellows have now been replaced with simple circuitry and batteries.Metadata
Every digitized item includes a "More Information" link that provides viewers with supplemental bibliographic and narrative information about the item. The bibliographic information includes the title of the book that the item was taken from, the author, publisher, and pub
lication year. Some also include excerpts from the text and provide a narrative of the author's reasons for including movable objects in the book. Unfortunately, there is not much metadata associated with the digital items. Since the objects all come from the same collection, and because this was an exhibit in 2002, it does not appear that there was a need to include detailed metadata with the digitized items regarding specifications and current physical location.
lication year. Some also include excerpts from the text and provide a narrative of the author's reasons for including movable objects in the book. Unfortunately, there is not much metadata associated with the digital items. Since the objects all come from the same collection, and because this was an exhibit in 2002, it does not appear that there was a need to include detailed metadata with the digitized items regarding specifications and current physical location.
Intended Audience
According to the website's "About Us" page, the collection was designed to serve the research community and to entertain readers of all ages, including young children. As an Elementary School Librarian, the website caught my attention because the younger children at my school are fascinated by movable, pop-up books. There is also a "Links" page that provides viewers with other links of interest.
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