 IBBY description and purpose IBBY services IBBY awards IBBY publications contact IBBY! visit the website! How do I get involved? home | In November, 1951, political activist journalist and founder of the International Youth Library, Jella Lepman organized a meeting to promote the international support of children's books. Expecting only 60 participants, Lepman found herself host to 250 guests from 26 countries. This meeting, held under the title of International Understanding through Children's Books laid the foundation for the IBBY. At the time of the IBBY's founding, the importance of children's books as a means of promoting international understanding and peace was becoming evident to many in the field of children's literature. These advocates believed that all children should have access to books with high literacy and artistic standards, thus enabling them to become enthusiastic and informed readers. This idea supports the mission statement at the heart of every library program laid forth in the collaborative book Information Power. Since becoming an official non-profit organization in 1953, membership has grown to seventy National Sections from all over the world. Members include authors and illustrators, publishers and editors, translators, journalists and critics, teachers, university professors and students, librarians and booksellers, social workers and parents, all of whom are dedicated to bringing books and children together. |