Marcus Crouch (12 February 1913 – 24 April 1996) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
, and an influential commentator on and reviewer of children's books.
[Sheila Ray. "Obituary: Marcus Crouch", ''Children's Literature Abstracts'', Issues 92-95, ]International Federation of Library Associations
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of people who rely on libraries and information professionals. An independent, non-governmental, not-for-pro ...
, Sub-section on Library Work with Children, Children's Libraries Section, 1996.[Brian Doyle. "Marcus Crouch", ''The Who's Who of Children's Literature'', Evelyn, 1968, pp. 67-68.]
Life and works
Marcus Crouch was born at
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...
in Middlessex and educated at the
Grammar School
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
there and at
London University
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...
, where he trained as a Chartered Librarian at the School of Librarianship, University College.
He worked as a librarian in the
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
and
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
County Libraries. He was Chairman, and later Honorary Secretary, of the Youth Libraries Group (established) of the
Library Association
The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...
, and Chairman of the Kent Branch of the School Library Association. He was Deputy County Librarian for Kent.
He is best known for two surveys of British children's literature: ''Treasure Seekers and Borrowers: Children's Books in Britain 1900-1960'' and ''The Nesbit Tradition: The Children's Novel 1945-1970''. For the Library Association he compiled an account of those books that were awarded the
Carnegie Medal in its first thirty years 1936–1957 in ''Chosen for Children: an account of the books which have been awarded the Library Association Carnegie Medal, 1936-1965''.
He was noted for his
Bodley Head
The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...
monograph on
Beatrix Potter
Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was he ...
.
He compiled and edited several collections of
folk tales for children.
He created several nonfiction books on southeastern England including some illustrated with his own photographs.
Crouch contributed numerous reviews of children's books to ''Junior Bookshelf'', the ''
Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp.
History
The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...
'', and ''School Librarian''.
He died at home in
North Wales
, area_land_km2 = 6,172
, postal_code_type = Postcode
, postal_code = LL, CH, SY
, image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg
, map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
aged 83. He is commemorated by the Kent Arts and Libraries "Marcus Crouch Collection" of approximately 1,500 children's books that were published in the United Kingdom between 1830 and 1930.
[Dolores Blythe Jones. ''Special Collections in Children's Literature: An International Directory'', ]Association for Library Service to Children
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association, and it is the world's largest organization dedicated to library service to children. Its members are concerned with creating a better future ...
(U.S.), Committee on National Planning for Special Collections, 1995.
See also
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crouch, Marcus
English children's writers
English literary critics
English librarians
People from Tottenham
1913 births
1996 deaths
Alumni of the University of London