Hannah Nuba, Pioneer in Field of Early Childhood Services in Libraries, Dies

New York, December 5, 2000 -- Hannah Nuba, the founder and former director of The New York Public Library's Early Childhood Resource and Information Center (ECRIC), died on October 19. Ms. Nuba was widely known and respected for her pioneering work in the field of early childhood services, which redefined the way public libraries serve young children and the adults who care for them.

"To have an early childhood center in a library in the 1970s was something completely new," said Norman Holman, Director of The Branch Libraries. "Hannah devoted her life to addressing the needs of the youngest library users, and to constantly improving service for them."

Under Ms. Nuba's leadership, ECRIC, which she developed and implemented in 1978, became an internationally recognized program. Ms. Nuba brought together leaders in the field of Early Childhood Education to serve as the ECRIC Advisory Board, and organized thousands of workshops at ECRIC for professionals and parents. Among the noted speakers she invited were Dr. Benjamin Spock and children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak.

Ms. Nuba was also the originator and administrator of the prestigious Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, supported by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation, and presented annually to a promising new writer of picture books for children. She wrote and edited numerous articles and several books on children's literature and child development, including Resources for Early Childhood: A Handbook (Garland, 1994) and Growing Active Readers in the Early Childhood Classroom (Childcraft, 1999). She also served as a consultant to the Childcraft Educational Corporation.

Born in Germany in 1926, Hannah (Schindler) Nuba escaped the Nazi regime when she was just seven years old. Her sense of dislocation as an immigrant child trying to adjust to a new country helped shape her desire to help other young children and their parents. She graduated from Goddard College in Vermont and, with the encouragement of her husband, Vienna-born Emil Nuba, earned her Master's of Library Science from Columbia University.

Ms. Nuba began her career at the Library in 1966 as a Clerk at the Yorkville Branch. She worked at several Library branches, including the 67th Street Branch in Manhattan and the Wakefield Branch in the Bronx, until she established ECRIC in 1978. In 1982, the Early Childhood Center found its permanent home in the Hudson Park Library at 66 Leroy Street. After her retirement in 1992, Ms. Nuba continued working part time on ECRIC projects for several years. She will be remembered as an enthusiastic and devoted champion of the welfare of young children. Ms. Nuba is survived by a daughter, a son, and four grandchildren.

The Early Childhood Resource and Information Center houses an extensive collection of scholarly and popular materials that focus on children from birth to age six. The Center regularly offers workshops and seminars for parents and professionals by leading educators and childcare practitioners. ECRIC's Family Room is designed to foster a child's development through interaction with an adult, and features a large collection of books, puzzles, toys, and CDs.

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