The Arne Nixon Center, located on the third floor of the Henry Madden Library, is a hidden treasure where children’s books are preserved and stored for research and reference.
Although many students may not be aware of its existence, the center is a special collection of the library, housing more than 56,000 children’s and young adult books, both new and old.
Jennifer Crow is the curator of the center and said it was named for Arne Nixon, a former professor of children’s literature and puppetry at Fresno State. Crow said Nixon collected 22,000 children’s books throughout his life, and before his death in 1997, he donated them to the library.
Nixon also contributed $1 million to start the center, which opened in 2001.
“There are not a lot of children’s collections on college campuses,” Crow said. “We are kind of new.”
Crow said anyone is welcome to visit the center. A visitor can go in and look at any of the books in the collection according to a catalog, and an employee will retrieve any book the person wishes to see.
“It’s best if they make appointments,” Crow said. “Then we can have something ready for them when they come in and they let us know what they’re working on.”
Any visitor, however, must stay in the reading room at the center when looking at a book and using it for research. The books cannot be checked out, Crow said, as part of Nixon’s stipulations for the center.
“He really wanted it [as] a research center,” Crow said.
Many of the books are signed by the author with a personal illustration or inscription meant for Nixon — another reason the books are required to stay at the center.
“Once books check out, sometimes they don’t come back, or they come back in really terrible condition,” Crow said. “So he just wanted them to stay in good shape so people could use them for research.”
Among its compilation, the center has more than 500 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender themed books. It also contains an extensive collection of cat books and hundreds of books spanning 20 different languages.
Crow said the center’s collection has grown due to book donations from individuals and publishers.
Jorge Carrillo, a student who works at the center, said he shelves the books and completes labels for new arrivals. He also works on the processing and organization of book donations.
“It’s nice, peaceful and quiet,” Carrillo said. “You come across books you read as a little kid. There are a lot of Dr. Seuss and Clifford books.”
Crow said the center does not encourage small children to visit, but rather adults and educators who work with children.
“We want to expose teachers to current issues in children’s literature,” Crow said.
The center is in the midst of holding a series of three symposiums for teachers and credential students. The third seminar will be May 11, with a theme of visual literacy.
The symposiums, Crow said, are aimed at helping teachers improve their students’ writing and critical thinking skills.
Crow said the center also holds programs and events.
“A lot of people don’t know we’re here, so we’re trying to get the word out,” Crow said.
From March 18 to May 24, the center will show two galleries in the library, both open to the public. One will be an exhibit of the Little Golden Books, a series of children’s books launched in the 1940s. Sixty original illustrations will be on display from these books.
The other exhibit will be a display of illustrator Salley Mavor’s detailed 3-D fabric designs for children’s books.
Jami Sanford, a library services specialist, said the center’s focus is on the exhibits and making them a success. Sanford said the center plans to increase its activity on Facebook and Twitter in hopes of inviting more people to visit.
Crow said she hopes to work with local media to publicize the events they will hold. As for reaching the student audience on campus, Crow said progress is being made.
“We do try to raise awareness around campus, and people do research here, so I think it’s a benefit,” Crow said. “If they are doing children’s literature or if they have questions, we’re a reference. We help people.”