ISABEL WILNER PAPERS

de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi

	Creator:	Alfaretta Isabel Wilner
	Title:	Isabel Wilner Papers
	Dates:	1958-1993
	Quantity:	2.05 cubic feet (6 boxes)
	Identification:	DG1124

Biographical Note

Isabel Wilner was born in Shanghai, China, on February 17, 1920, the daughter of Episcopal missionaries. She lived in China and the Philippines until she left to attend college in the United States at age eighteen. Wilner earned a B.A. degree in English from William Smith College in 1942 and a B.S. degree in library service from the Carnegie Library School in 1945. For the next four years, she worked as a children's librarian in Pittsburgh and New York City and as an army librarian in the Philippines and Okinawa. She became the librarian at the Lida Lee Tall Laboratory School of Towson State College in Towson, Maryland, in 1949 and remained there until her retirement in 1988.

Wilner published several poems in Horn Book magazine between 1946 and 1984. Her first children's book, The Poetry Troupe, a children's poetry anthology, appeared in 1977. She published two alphabet picture books in the early 1990s: B Is for Bethlehem (1990) and A Garden Alphabet (1991). Isabel Wilner passed away on March 16, 2011 in her home in Tunkhannock, PA.

Sources:
Who's Who in Library and Information Services, ed. Joel M. Lee (Chicago: American Library Association, 1982), 541.
"Children's alphabet book is a hit 33 years after it was written," The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Md.), 28 November 1990, E1.
Reminiscence of The Horn Book by Isabel Wilner in The Horn Book Virtual History Exhibit, http://www.hbook.com/exhibit/remin_wilner.html, accessed 13 March 2003.

Scope and Content Note

The Isabel Wilner Papers contain manuscripts, typescripts, dummies, correspondence, printed material, and photographs created and accumulated by Isabel Wilner between 1958 and 1993. Wilner's papers were created from her composition of three published books and two articles, as well as from public poetry readings performed in schools. The material is organized into three series: books, public readings, and articles.

The Books Series contains manuscripts, typescripts, dummies, correspondence, and printed material for all three of Wilner's children's books. The material spans the years 1958 to 1992. The papers in the series are arranged alphabetically by title and the material for each book is arranged chronologically in order of creation when known. The container listing offers detailed descriptions of the holdings for each title and information on the material's process of creation may be gleaned easily from the container listing for each book. Following departmental custom, the processor has numbered each manuscript and typescript by order of creation (first, second, third, etc.).

Isabel Wilner maintained correspondence files for her three books that she kept in 3-ring binders. She punctuated the chronologically-arranged letters with notes to provide commentary on the process of each book's creation. Consequently, her edited correspondence provides a seamless account of the production of each book.

The Public Readings Series consists of correspondence, photographs, and newspaper clippings concerning public readings of poetry from The Poetry Troupe. The material dates from 1974 to 1993 and is arranged chronologically. It documents both performances by "poetry troupes" composed of children from the Lida Lee Tall School, as well as poetry readings that Isabel Wilner conducted with grammar school classes in several cities. The bulk of the material is letters from adults and schoolchildren thanking Wilner for her appearances.

The Articles Series contains a typescript, correspondence, photographs, and issues of academic journals that include two articles by Isabel Wilner. Both articles describe the development of the poetry troupes at the Lida Lee Tall School. The material dates from 1978 to 1983 and is arranged alphabetically by the title of the article.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Use

Noncirculating; available for research.

Copyright Restrictions

The collection is protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Reproductions can be made only if they are to be used for "private study, scholarship, or research." It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials, other than that noted above.

Separated Material

Oversize material is kept in boxes 5 & 6.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Isabel Wilner Papers, de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, University of Southern Mississippi Libraries, (Cite the item's box/folder numbers).

Provenance

These papers were donated to the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection of the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries by Isabel Wilner in May 1994 and July 1998.

Processing Information

Processed by Hans Rasmussen, March 2003. Encoded into EAD Version 1.0 by Danielle L. Bishop. This finding aid is the product of a grant funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Container Listing

Accession Number: 2003-073

Inclusive Dates: 1997-2000

Volume: .33 cubic ft.

Given By : Isabel Wilner

Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Form of Material:

The Baby's Game Book selected by Isabel Wilner, pictures by Sam Williams; Greenwillow, 2000.

Photocopies of Parts I and II of the manuscript
Photocopy of typescript dated 3-2-98
Photocopy of Galleys--title page, and pages 2-10, dated 5-4-98
Photocopy of Galleys--pages 11-23, dated 5-4-98
Photocopies pf reviews
Greenwillow Spring/Summer 2000 catalog
Photocopies of editorial correspondence, 1997-2000

Contact:
The de Grummond Children's Literature Collection
The University of Southern Mississippi
118 College Drive, #5148
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
(601) 266-4349
Comments and Questions

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The University of Southern Mississippi
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