Initiative and influence: the contributions of Virginia Haviland to children's services, research, and writing - Imagination and Scholarship: The Contributions of Women to American Youth Services and Literature

Library Trends, Spring, 1996 by Karen Patricia Smith

Abstract

This article focuses upon the legacy of achievement of Virginia Haviland, whose career was dedicated to youth services, the writing and reviewing of children's literature, and scholarly research. Haviland had an unusually active career within a segment of the feminized profession of library science. This researcher offers an investigation of Haviland's success in mediating her personal desire for a connection With children and child-related interests with a need for professional affiliation.

Introduction

In her work In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development, Carol Gilligan (1993) points out that, for women, there often exists a tension between responsibility and the desire to take control of their own lives. This tension exists between a morality of rights that dissolves `natural bonds' in support of individual claims and a morality of responsibility that knits such claims into a fabric of relationship, blurring the distinction between self and other through the representation of their interdependence" (p. 132). Such a situation can create a difficulty for women who desire to pursue a profession, an extension of their personal needs and goals, and yet assist others in a manner appearing more selfless and, in a sense, more "female." Librarianship, a service profession viewed as "feminine" until relatively recently with the onset of technology, has traditionally offered a way of reducing such tension in allowing its female participants to achieve more balance between the two than would some other professions. "Youth services, by its very nature and involvement with young people, has facilitated such a balance even more

During the mid part of the century, a relatively small group of women were successful, through a genuine bonding with the youth services profession as well as through a personal bonding with each other and respect for the resources and achievements of those who had gone before, in carving out a place which would be ultimately significant and "trailblazing" in youth services. Women, such as Anne Carroll Moore, Louise Seaman Bechtel, and Alice Jordan, made indelible contributions, showing not only a devotion to the field but also a penchant for bonding with, and helping, one another. It is interesting to note that these women seldom, if ever, stated that assistance to other women was based solely upon the fact that they were women. Rather, most of them would probably have argued that it was a matter of circumstance and opportunity. In some instances, men would nurture the careers of women as well, one outstanding example being Frederic Melcher, whose close ties with women like Bertha Mahony served as inspiration and opportunity for them in their careers. One such individual who was part of this "informal" tradition of female bonding, and who distinguished herself in the areas of services, domestic/international literature and research was Virginia Haviland.

This article focuses upon the contributions of Haviland and the manner in which she successfully combined her personal passions for working with youth, both directly and indirectly, through association with their materials. This allowed her to mediate between personal desires and professional goals.

Early Influences - Upon the Way that She would Go

The path that one takes in life is all too often influenced by the nature of the upbringing one has had and the circumstances of one's surroundings. If one is fortunate, these influences are positive. During her lifetime, Haviland would be known to say, on more than one occasion, that the opportunities she had been presented with had come as a result of luck and her ability to absorb the various stimuli around her. In her Regina Award acceptance speech of April 20, 1976, for instance, she stated:

I enjoyed reflecting on the supreme good fortune of happening somehow years ago to be sometimes in the right place at the right time, and blessed, perhaps, with a kind of hunger that made me reach out for and absorb stimulation. With all humility I admit that I had a voracious susceptibility to stimulus. (Haviland, 1976a, p. 5)

Indeed, Haviland showed herself fortuitously susceptible to stimulus during her early years. Born in Rochester, New York, on May 21, 1911, Haviland was the daughter of William J. and Bertha (Esten) Haviland and was related to the Havilands of the prestigious Haviland porcelain firm of Limoges, France, founded in 1842. She was early on favorably influenced by two aunts with whom she spent a considerable amount of time. These two women were fond of entertaining international visitors at their home and had traveled in the Middle East and Palestine. Through them, Haviland was able to meet people from all over the world. Such contacts may have fueled Haviland's later fascination with international literature, an interest which would later distinguish her from among her professional peers.

From an early age, she was also intrigued with the classics in children's literature and was strongly influenced by such books as Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, and Little, Women (Weeks, 1976, p. G8) as well as by Johanna Spyri's Heidi. Of the latter, she would later state: "Whenever I stop to consider the power of this book in representing Switzerland, I think of how Heidi's crusty bread and Swiss cheese made me as a child long to live in Switzerland so that like her I could live on that diet". (Haviland, 1976b, p. 14). Haviland would, during the course of her life, receive many opportunities to live out her fantasies of visiting other places, sampling the diets of diverse cultures in different countries. At some point, her family moved to Amesbury, Massachusetts. Haviland graduated from Amesbury High School in 1929.