"What a lovely, generous idea!" wrote Sorbonne professor Paul Hazard on the day after the 1918 Armistice, announcing an American committee's gift to France of a model library for children. At that time in France, public libraries were still the "poor relatives" of the rich research and rare-book collections. In the People's Libraries, as they were called, unattractive books bound in black were kept locked behind bars, and a nonprofessional employee handed them out through a small window.

            As for children, in some elementary school classrooms one might find a small cupboard containing books that the teacher lent to pupils. So when the American Committee for Devastated France, after the war, established in the department of Aisne and in the Rue Fessart in Paris six reading and lending libraries with children's corners, the few French librarians who had been fighting to introduce the American system into France (Eugène Morel, Ernest Coyecque, Gabriel Henriot, and Henri Lemaître) were delighted finally to see a successful example of a modern library. Another committee, the Book Committee on Children's Libraries, headed by Mrs. J. L. Griffiths, had been formed in 1918. After organizing L'Heure Joyeuse (Happy Time) in Brussels in 1920, the Committee decided to offer a similar library to the children of France "in honor of their courage during the war, and to help them take a part in the rebuilding of their own country and of the world." The City Council of Paris obtained a location on Rue Boutebrie in the heart of the Latin Quarter; it was an unused but roofed schoolyard, open to the street on one side and to a tree-lined courtyard on the other. The Book Committee had carefully seen to the training of three young librarians: Claire Huchet, Marguerite Gruny (niece of Eugène Morel), and Mathilde Leriche. It brought in furniture and a collection of 2,000 French books (embellished with the bookplate reproduced on the cover) and undertook to be responsible for the upkeep of the library for one year, at the end of which the library service of the City of Paris would take over.

            The inauguration of L'Heure Joyeuse took place on 12 November 1924, in the presence of many French and American notables. Eugène Morel finished his speech by saying, "The children's library precedes, and provides a blue-print for, the library for all the public, which we French are eagerly awaiting and which we will surely get. Children, we are following in your footsteps!" As soon as it opened, children flocked to this well-lit, comfortable library, whose flowers and decorations, books bound in many colors, and child-size furniture made it seem more like a private home than a public institution.

            The children themselves could choose books, borrow them, search through the catalog, sit down to look at pictures—they had never known such freedom! They were even asked to help the librarians with various jobs: lending books, preparing them, welcoming new users, and so forth.

            The books were organized along the lines of American techniques (Dewey decimal classification; author, title, and subject catalog), supplemented by certain innovations made by the French librarians (for example, a brief outline of the books on the main cards).

            In the interest of improving reading skills and raising reading levels, a variety of activities were soon organized, some by the readers themselves. Book talks and poetry readings were soon followed by dramatic games, exhibits of beautiful books and documents on many subjects with captions and bibliographies (quiz games that often accompanied these served to get the reader's attention), and, of course, reading aloud, and Story Hours.

            For France, L'Heure Joyeuse was not only a model library, but also an educational institution ahead of its time. Many educators and librarians came there to learn about children's literature and about techniques for children's libraries. Courses were organized for them. And editors and authors of children's books in search of new ideas came there to look for inspiration.

            All these activities added to the routine work of the library—including criticism and selection of new books—were carried out with remarkable continuity. Nevertheless, the staff, after successive resignations, was reduced in 1934 to two of the librarians recruited at its inception: Mathilde Leriche and Marguerite Gruny, who retired in 1965 and 1968, respectively.

            But public libraries with children's departments continued to develop in France, and made a spectacular leap forward after World War II. The City of Paris was among the first municipalities to budget a significant amount of money for the modernization and growth of its libraries; there are now children's departments in thirty-two of them, while eight libraries are devoted entirely to young people. In the Parisian suburb of Clamart, a model library, La Joie par les Livres (Joy through Books), particularly notable for its architecture, opened in 1965 thanks to the generosity of Madame Gruner-Schlumberger. Now taken over by the national government, this library is also responsible for a documentation center in Paris that publishes La Revue du Livre pour Enfants (Children's Book Review).

            In 1975, L'Heure Joyeuse, which had long been cramped into too small quarters, was installed in a special building opposite the Saint-Severin cloisters. With 8,760 square feet distributed over three floors, this building contains a reading and lending section, offices, a projection room, a work area, a media center, and a historical collection. The staff now consists of twelve people, including two chief librarians. The collection consists of 20,000 books, 70 magazine subscriptions, 150 art reproductions, and 1,000 microform documents; the media center owns 1,900 cassettes and 1,400 records.

            The historical collection houses the library's archives and 4,000 books, among them a number of children's classics, the majority of which are now out of print. Among these may be found some of the 2,000 books originally donated by the Book Committee and bearing the bookplate reproduced on the cover.

            This charming bookplate truly captures the spirit of L'Heure Joyeuse: a comfortable, inviting atmosphere where the children are free to handle the books. The size of the current bookplate is approximately 3 by 3½ inches.

            The focal point is two children seated in a soft, cushioned armchair in the library. Their pose is relaxed and affectionate: the young girl has one leg curled up underneath her, the older child is sitting on the arm of the chair with one arm curled around the back of the chair. Both children are looking at a large book held in the younger child's lap. The bare trees that frame the older child's head and shoulders suggest that the window overlooks the tree-shaded courtyard mentioned earlier. In an arch surrounding the children is the library's name, and scenes depicting the wonders to be found in books.

            Beginning on the left of the arch and moving clockwise, the first figure on the arch is a haloed saint standing above the royal flag of France. Surely the young saint is Joan of Arc, in prayer before leading the army of France into battle. Above her are two cowled monks holding a budded cross, or cross botonnée. The "buds" at each end of the cross symbolize a young Christian whose faith will later "flower" into a mature faith. Both Joan of Arc and the budded cross suggest tales of brave young saints from France's rich religious history. At the top of the arch is a tall ship with full-blown sails, promising tales of adventures on the high seas. To the right of the ship is the famous scene of three American patriots holding the flag of the American Revolution, a fife, and a drum (from the painting "The Spirit of '76" by Archibald Willard). These patriots simultaneously suggest both exciting tales of history and the Franco-American cooperation during the American Revolution that appears again in the founding of L'Heure Joyeuse roughly 150 years later. The last image is of a medieval city with a young man venturing forth, perhaps a young prince in quest of his princess. That staple of children's stories, the fairy tale, thus completes the arch.

            The name of the designer, Helen Stowe Penrose, appears at the lower left. Research has failed to provide any information on the designer, or on the bookplate itself. If readers have any information on Helen Stowe Penrose or the bookplate, please forward the information to the JLH editor.

Renée Lemaître

Paris

 Translated by Jean M. Wyllys