International Youth Literature Collection

The International Youth Library (Internationale Jugendbibliothek) is the largest library for international children's and youth literature in the world.It was opened in 1949 by Jella Lepman and has been housed in Blutenburg Castle in Munich, Germany since 1983.

The research collection of the Cotsen Children's Library is a major historical collection of rare illustrated children's books, manuscripts, original artwork, prints, and educational toys from the 15th century to the present day in over thirty languages. Their online exhibits are beautifully curated. 

The ICDL Foundation's goal is to build a collection of books that represents outstanding historical and contemporary books from throughout the world.  

An extensive International Collection is located in the Center for Teaching Through Children's Books at National Louis University. This site is under  construction and will be updated in the near future.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

The IBBY Collection for Young People with Disabilities, is located at North York Central Library of the Toronto Public Library and includes:

• Outstanding examples of books for and about young people with disabilities
• 4,000 titles in over 40 languages
• Specialized formats such as Braille, PCS and Sign Language
• Tactile and textile books

Read about previous IBBY selections and more on their blog. The librarians at TPL introduce the 2021 collection here. 

The National Collection of Children's Books project includes an online platform, with a catalogue and database, that facilitates the exploration of over 250,000 children's books in over 90 languages from five libraries in Dublin. The project was funded by the Irish Research Council. This short film provides an overview of the NCCB. 

Worlds of Words: Center of Global Literacies and Literatures builds bridges across global cultures through children’s and adolescent literature.

Pionirska – Centre for Youth Literature and Librarianship, Pionirska - center za mladinsko književnost in knjižničarstvo established in 1948, is the only national centre for collecting and distributing information on youth literature, librarianship and the promotion of reading. It organises monthly expert meetings on youth and school librarianship and a number of projects in the field of reading aimed at young people across Slovenia, in neighbouring countries and abroad. Pionirska is located in  the Ljubljana City Library, Kersnikova ulica 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.