Minicourse Module 24a: Transforming Library Collections Part 1

Approx time: 1 hr

This minicourse module is an abridged version of Project READY’s Module 26a: Transforming Library Collections Part 1. Follow the link to access the full module.

INTRODUCTION

Diversity is not praiseworthy. It is reality. – Malinda Lo

When we fight for diverse books, we’re really just fighting for a more honest literature. Books that tell the truth. Because when we say, “We Need Diverse Books,” we’re really saying “We Need Books That Don’t Lie To Us About Who We Are Or Whether We Exist.” – Daniel José Older

These two quotes from award-winning authors get to the heart of effective library collections for BIYOC. The library’s collection explicitly and implicitly communicates information about whose lives are valued, whose stories deserve telling, who gets to tell their stories, and who is welcome in the space. Inclusive and equitable library collections contain books that reflect the lived experiences of BIYOC and their communities, in particular, #ownvoices books!  In this module, we will explore strategies for creating library collections that are welcoming and affirming for BIYOC, share examples of libraries that are putting these strategies to work, and provide guidelines for equitable library collections that you can use to plan for improvements within your own context.

WHY DIVERSE LITERATURE?

Before we examine the characteristics of effective library collections for BIYOC, let’s pause for a moment and consider why it is important for our collections to be diverse.  While we may all understand why our libraries should be rich with diverse books, we may need explanations to share with colleagues, administrators, and parents/caregivers – especially as we advocate.

Let’s start with why it is important for BIYOC and other marginalized youth. Texts that reflect their personal experiences and accurately portray characters that look like themselves and their families, friends, and peers:

  • validate their existence and lived experiences (Bishop, 1990; Tatum, 2009; Tatum; 2017)
  • connect them with their textual lineage & history (Banks, 1999; Tatum; 2009; Tatum; 2017)
  • counter the “single story” – the premises, myths, and stereotypes that are often held by the dominant white culture (Adichie, 2009; Delgado, 1989; Tatum, 2009; Tatum; 2017)
  • support positive racial and ethnic identity development (Hanley & Noblit, 2009; Tatum, 2009; Tatum; 2017)
  • increase engagement with reading & other academic subjects (Edwards et al, 2010; Tatum, 2009; Tatum; 2017)
  • provide positive images of the achievement of members of marginalized communities (Banks, 1999; Tatum; 2009; Tatum; 2017)
  • “provide healing from the damages of living in a racist society.” (Barker, 2010)

Icon_watch WATCH

In this interview on the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, award-winning author Jason Reynolds talks about how diverse literature can support young people of color in developing positive relationships with literacy.

In this TED Talk, award-winning author Grace Lin shares her experiences growing up as a member of the only Asian American family in her community and the lack of Asian representation in books.


REFLECT

Think of one specific BIYOC you have worked with. How do you think this child or teen would react to seeing their life experiences authentically represented in the resources in the library? In what ways would it be sustaining for them?


But what if you work in a community with little diversity? All youth benefit from diverse literature. In fact, the research1 discussed below shows that exposure to diverse literature and diverse cultures leads to:

  • Increased Academic Performance. Reading diverse books has been found to support “identity-safe classrooms” for all youth, a key factor in increased achievement.
  • Increased Engagement in Reading. In studies, children and teens have indicated that they want to read books where the characters do not all look the same. “I like reading about people that are different than me.” “Books about kids that are different than the kids in my class are interesting.”
  • Better Prosocial Development. Research has shown that youth who read a book with intercultural topics showed “not only a reduction in stereotyping and more positive feelings about students representing identities other than their own, but also an increased desire to engage in future contact.”
  • College and Career Readiness. Reading diverse literature can help youth learn to respectfully collaborate and communicate with people from different cultural groups, key 21st Century Skills.

Additionally, reading literature can create a shared understanding and appreciation for the historical and current social, political, economic, and scientific contributions of marginalized communities to American society and the world (Tatum, 2017), and provide a forum for youth to talk about race, ethnicity, gender identification, sexual orientation, and disability in transformative ways (Hughes-Hassell, 2013).


REFLECT

Watch this video of award-winning author Sharon G. Flake’s poem “You Don’t Even Know Me,” performed by Black male students from Roseville High School in Minnesota. In what ways would using this poem with students benefit youth of color in your community? White youth in your community?


REVIEW

In Module 21, we introduced the five-part framework of Effective Library Services for Diverse Youth. Based on our own research and discussions with BIYOC as well as the research of others working in the library and education fields, we have identified six key features of effective library collections for BIYOC.


ACT

Use one of the following tools to collaboratively assess your library’s current collection for its cultural responsiveness. Be sure to include input from BIYOC in the process.

After assessing your current collection, set three goals for improving it: one short-term goal that you can accomplish immediately, one medium-term goal that you can accomplish over the next several weeks, and one long-term goal that you can accomplish over the next year. Use the Goals for Improving Library Services for Diverse Youth [PDF] template to write these goals down. We suggest printing this document (in poster size if possible), laminating it, and using it to track all of your goals related to the material in the next several modules. Post these goals somewhere in your library, and work with youth and other library stakeholders to achieve them. Once you have achieved a goal, replace it with another one.

TERMS TO KNOW

COUNTERSTORY TELLING – A concept introduced by critical race theorist Richard Delgado2 to describe a method of “telling the stories of those people whose experiences are not often told.”  Texts that act as counterstories validate the life experiences of BIYOC and challenge the versions of reality held by the dominant culture.

ENABLING TEXTS – A concept developed by Dr. Alfred Tatum3 to describe texts that:

  • Promote a healthy psyche
  • Reflect an awareness of the real world
  • Focus on the collective struggle of African Americans
  • Serve as a roadmap for being, doing, thinking, and acting.

The concept can also be applied to texts that feature other marginalized communities.

#OWNVOICES –Begun as a Twitter hashtag created by author Corinne Duyvis4 to recommend books about diverse characters that are written by people who share those identities, #OwnVoices has become a movement calling for library staff to purchase books by marginalized authors and illustrators –  books that authentically and accurately portray their lives.

Note: We Need Diverse Books5 no longer uses the term #OwnVoices, because of “the vagueness of the term, which has then been used to place diverse creators in uncomfortable and potentially unsafe situations.” Instead, they recommend (and we agree) that it is important to use the “language that authors want to celebrate about themselves and their characters.” To read more go to their blog6.


Images of Practice - Icon by Adrien Coquet from Noun Project IMAGES OF PRACTICE

Fifth-grade teacher and edublogger Jessica Lifshitz (@Jess5th)7 published a post on her blog, Crawling Out of the Classroom, in which she describes how she engaged her fifth-grade students in analyzing their classroom library for its cultural responsiveness and relevancy. Read her post, titled Having Students Analyze Our Classroom Library To See How Diverse It Is.” As you read the post, respond to the questions below:

  • What skills and dispositions are the children developing?
  • What larger systems are the children learning to question and examine?
  • How might you adapt the process Jess used to involve youth in analyzing your library collection?

For resources on selecting diverse books, see the box under Additional Resources.


BUT WAIT!

In this section, we address common questions and concerns related to the material presented in each module. You may have these questions yourself, or someone you’re sharing this information with might raise them. We recommend that for each question below, you spend a few minutes thinking about your own response before clicking “Show more” to see our response.

So I have a book in the collection that misrepresents a community. What do I do?

What if the white students at my school don’t want to read books about people of color?

The teachers in my school insist on continuing to teach the classics – many of which contain offensive stereotypes. What can I do?


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

  1. http://blog.leeandlow.com/2015/03/25/why-do-we-need-diverse-books-in-non-diverse-schools/ ↩︎
  2. https://law.seattleu.edu/faculty/directory/profiles/delgado-richard.html ↩︎
  3. http://www.missionliteracy.com/uploads/3/4/4/5/34456187/enabling_texts_edge_te_am2a_fwo.pdf ↩︎
  4. http://www.corinneduyvis.net/ownvoices/ ↩︎
  5. https://diversebooks.org/ ↩︎
  6. https://diversebooks.org/why-we-need-diverse-books-is-no-longer-using-the-term-ownvoices/ ↩︎
  7. https://twitter.com/Jess5th ↩︎

Hogan, K.(2011). Tribal libraries as the future of librarianship: Independent collection development as a tool for social justice. In Loriene Roy, Anjali Bhasin & Sarah K. Arriaga (eds.) Tribal libraries, archives, and museums: Preserving our language, memory, and lifeways (p. 81-103). Lanham: Scarecrow Press.

Selected Resources for Selecting Diverse Books…

References and Image Credits

Adiche, C. N. (2009).  The danger of a single story.  Filmed July 209 at TEDGlobal 2009.

Banks, J. A. (1999). An Introduction to Multicultural Education.2nd ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Barker, J. (2010).  Racial identification and audience in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963.  Children’s Literature in Education, 41, 118-145

Bishop, R. S. (1990). “Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors.” Perspectives: Choosing and Using Books for the Classroom, 6(3).

Delgado, R. (1989). Storytelling for oppositionists and others: A plea for narrative. The Michigan Law Review Association, 87, 2411-2441.

Edwards, P. A., McMillon, G. T., & Turner, J. D. (2010). Change is gonna come: Transforming literacy education for African American students. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Hanley, M.S., & Noblit, G.W. (2009). Culturally responsiveness, racial identity, and academic success: A review of the literature. Retrieved April 18, 2014, from http://www.heinz.org/UserFiles/Library/Culture-Report_FINAL.pdf

Hughes-Hassell, S. (2013). Multicultural young adult literature as a form of counter-storytelling. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, 83(3), 212-228.

Tatum, A.W. (2009).  Reading for their life.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann Publishing.

Tatum, A.W. (2013). Fearless voices: Engaging a new generation of African American adolescent male writers. New York: Scholastic.

Tatum, B.D. (2017). “Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?” And other conversations about race. Revised and Updated. New York: Basic Books.