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CHICAGO - The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Special Collections and Bechtel Fellowship Committee have awarded the 2013 Louise Seaman Bechtel Fellowship to Alison Anson and Susan Wackerbarth.

The Bechtel Fellowship is designed to allow qualified children’s librarians to spend a total of four weeks or more reading and studying at the Baldwin Library of Historical Children’s Literature, a part of the . The Baldwin Library contains a special collection of 85,000 volumes of children’s literature published mostly before 1950. The fellowship is endowed in memory of Louise Seaman Bechtel and Ruth M. Baldwin and provides a stipend of $4,000.

Alison Anson is the children's services librarian at the . She will pursue the topic of bullying in historical children’s literature, determining if there are observable historical patterns in the presentation of bullying and how the topic may have evolved.

Susan Wackerbarth is a cataloging librarian at the . She will study historical books on manners from the 1700s to the present, identifying how books on manners may have changed throughout time and the factors that may have influenced this change.

“The committee was impressed by both Ms. Anson’s and Ms. Wackerbarth’s timely topics and the thoughtfulness put into the research methods and questions they will be examining. We are certain that children and library communities will benefit from their conclusions and follow-up programs,” said Chair Angela Leeper

ALSC, a division of the , is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. With a network of more than 4,000 children’s and youth librarians, literature experts, publishers and educational faculty, ALSC is committed to creating a better future for children through libraries. To learn more about ALSC, visit ALSC’s website at .

The 2013 ALSC Special Collections and Bechtel Fellowship Committee includes: Angela Leeper, chair, University of Richmond, Curriculum Materials Center, Va.; Dr. April Whatley Bedford; Connie J. Champlin, Cultural Adventures, Centerville, Mass.; Mary Beth Dunhouse; Christine A. Jenkins, University of Illinois, Champaign; Jeanne C. Lamb, New York Public Library Office of Children's Services; Mary G. Marshall, Addison (Ill.) Public Library; Elizabeth A. Poe; Lucinda S. Whitehurst, St. Christopher's Lower School, Richmond, Va.