The Child Drama Collection contains materials that document the international
history of theatre for youth from the 16th to the 21st centuries for

• Professional Theatre for Young Audiences (adults performing for children) 
• Youth Theatre (children performing for children)  
• Theatre Education (pre-school through university)

It is the largest theatre for youth repository in the world, containing over:

• 8,800 books (with copyrights from 1620-2014)
• 268 periodical titles
• 1,100 audio-visual media
• 3,500 linear feet of manuscript materials

The types of items collected are defined in the Child Drama Collection Development Policy.

• To see this document, click on the PDF file below.

The Child Drama Collection began in 1979 with the gifts of the papers of
Rita Criste, children's theatre professor at Northwestern University in
Evanston, Illinois and the records of the Children's Theatre Association
of America (CTAA), the national theatre for youth association.
In 1985 Katherine Krzys became Curator of the Collection.

For a more detailed history, click here.