Inclusive Collections: Building & Auditing the Collection

A collection of bibliographies from the ALA Rainbow Round Table.

"ADL’s online bibliography of recommended children’s and young adult books about bias, bullying, diversity and social justice"

An extensive and searchable list of diverse titles from the Children's Book Council (CBC) Diversity Committee

Lists and other resources from the Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

From Multicultural Book Day, a non-profit aiming to get more diversity into schools and libraries.

From the Lee & Low blog, lists of books for kids in grades PreK-8. "The mentor texts provided in the Social Activism list can inspire students to address an issue that they are passionate about..."

Diversity and inclusion project from First Book. Includes both recommended book lists, as well as discount purchasing options for non-profit agencies.

Extensive list of lists from Karen Jensen of Teen Librarian Toolbox (Part 3 of the Diversity Audit series)

Extensive list of book lists from the editors at We Need Diverse Books.

Annual summer book lists representing BIPOC views and experiences.

Award-winning educator, Debbie Reese, maintains this extensive site filled with reviews and essays.

"The Brown Bookshelf is designed to push awareness of the myriad Black voices writing for young readers. Our flagship initiative is 28 Days Later, a month-long showcase of the best in Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adult novels written and illustrated by Black creators"

From the Children's Book Council (CBC): "Books and resources to help young people and educators access more information about the rainbow of diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA+, Native, people of color, gender diversity, exceptional abilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities."

Wide variety of book reviews and thoughts from academic librarian and children's book expert, Edi Campbell.

Book/writing blog of award-winning author Cynthia Leitich Smith.

A virtual celebration of Latinx kidlit books, authors, and illustrators, held each September. Site includes link to recordings.

"Rich in Color is dedicated to reading, reviewing, talking about, and otherwise promoting young adult books (fiction and non-fiction) starring or written by people of color or people from First/Native Nations."

Developed in 2017 by Teaching for Change "to identify and promote the best multicultural and social justice children’s books, as well as articles and books for educators."

"Vamos a Leer is overseen by the Latin American & Iberian Institute (LAII) at the University of New Mexico. The blog supports K-12 teaching about Latin America by providing resources to educators, including lesson plans, author + book suggestions, and related materials."

Resources for librarians, educators, and parents from the We Need Diverse Books organization.

A project of the University of Arizona with the goal of "integrating global literature into classrooms and libraries is to challenge children and adolescents to understand and accept those different from themselves, thus breaking cycles of oppression and prejudice between people of different cultures."

MA publisher that believes "books for children should offer accurate information, promote a positive worldview, and embrace a child's innate sense of wonder and fun."

An imprint of HarperCollins, Heartdrum features works by Native American authors. "Heartfelt, groundbreaking, and unexpected, these children’s books emphasize the present and future of Indian Country and the strength of young Indigenous heroes."

The largest multicultural publisher in the United States. In addition to publishing award-winning diverse books, Lee & Low also sponsors the New Voices Writing Award and creates educational and advocacy opportunities for librarians and educators.

From HarperCollins: "Pride Month is a time set aside to recognize the impact that LGBTQIA+ individuals have had and continue to have across all aspects of life. Whether we’re able to gather in person or connect with each other virtually, we can honor and uplift LGBTQIA+ stories and creators by reading and sharing their stories."

Library Journal, Jan. 2023. "As the publishing industry makes greater concerted efforts to represent the rich diversity of the world in which we live, small presses and imprints under larger houses are taking the lead."

"The mission of Rick Riordan Presents will be to 'find, nurture, and promote the best storytellers for middle grade readers,' with the focus on diverse, mythology-based fiction by new, emerging, and under-represented authors."

A HarperCollins imprint under the direction of Kwame Alexander. "VERSIFY reflects that accessible and powerful prose and poetry—in picture books, novels, and nonfiction—can celebrate the lives and reflect the possibilities of all children."

Various awards honoring creators from a variety of backgrounds including the Coretta Scott King Award, Sydney Taylor Book Award, the Schneider Family Book Award, and the Pura Belpré Award.

"Awarded biennially, the AIYLA identifies and honors the very best writing and illustrations by Native Americans and Indigenous peoples of North America. Books selected to receive the award present Indigenous North American peoples in the fullness of their humanity."

"The goal of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature is to honor and recognize individual work about Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage, based on literary and artistic merit."

Curated by the University of West Florida. "This guide, geared towards academic libraries, is a compilation of awards for diverse and diversity-related books written primarily for adult audiences (e.g. not children's or YA literature). The list includes some fiction and popular awards, but the majority focus on scholarly non-fiction. In most cases, award descriptions were taken directly from award web sites."

List of diverse book awards curated by Eastern Illinois University.

Recognizes authors, illustrators, and publishers of high quality fictional and biographical children, intermediate, and young adult books that authentically portray individuals with developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and Down syndrome.

Charged with recognizing and encouraging emerging talent in the field of children’s books.

Titles of interest will be unusual, possibly un-reviewed, have multicultural characters, address topics dealing with difficult situations including (but not limited to) street life, marginalized populations, crime, justice, war, violence, abuse, addiction, homelessness and gangs.

From We Need Diverse Books. "The Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children's Literature recognize diverse authors whose works feature diverse main characters and address diversity in a meaningful way."

An overview for performing a quick "collection check-up" by teacher/librarian Judith Snyder.

Overview of commercially-available diversity audit tools from American Libraries.

Filling a gap in the diversity audit literature, Jessica Condlin explains the background and procedure she used in a nonfiction audit at University of Dubuque (Iowa).

This IMLS-funded tool allows libraries to run a diversity analysis on children's collections.

This KQED article by Kara Newhouse gives both practical tips as well as specific book recommendations.

Library Media Specialist Kelsey Bogan shares her step-by-step experience doing a diversity audit on her library's collection.

MSLA Forum Newsletter article by school librarian Michelle Laflamme. Excellent overview of best practices with a useful bibliography.

Outline and sources from the Teen Librarian Toolbox series on collection diversity audits.

By Louise Derman-Sparks, based on her article, "10 Quick Ways to Analyze Books for Racism and Sexism"

In this ALSC Blog post, school librarian Chelsey Roos shares steps to doing a diversity audit.

"Kirkus Collections helps librarians build and continually update collections curated with both literary merit and thematic issues in mind. Our inaugural lists focus on diversity in children’s and young adult literature and are the result of a process that builds on the diverse voices of Kirkus’ children’s and YA reviewers..."

New York Times editorial by Denene Millner about the need for more books showing children of color having every day experiences.

The Cooperative Children's Book Center's annual report on diversity in children's publishing.

Articles and research from the team that developed the Diverse Bookfinder tool.

Choice360 blog post by Jamia Williams of the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Training Office.

By Maria Mavrides Calderon and Isabel Mavrides-Calderon and in NAEYC's Voices of Practitioners, Winter 2023, Volume 18

SLJ article by Krista Maywalt Aronson and Anne Sibley O’Brien outlining Aronson's research, which shows that cross-cultural friendships in children's literature are effective at improving kids' acceptance of others.

"Library leadership has an important role in ensuring this work is championed and steered effectively, and this guide is designed in support of that. We also anticipate this guide will be of interest to a broader audience interested in diversifying library collections, including especially those who will partner with leadership to realize the library’s goals in this area."

The Diversity Baseline Survey (DBS 2.0) was created by Lee & Low Books with co-authors Laura M. Jiménez, PhD, Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development and Betsy Beckert, graduate student in the Language and Literacy Department of Wheelock College of Education & Human Development

Atlantic interview with Philip Nel, scholar and professor of children's literature at Kansas State University, which addresses what to do about problematic classic children's literature in light of racist imagery and content.

The mission of Research on Diversity in Youth Literature (RDYL) is to publish scholarship attending to issues of diversity, equity, social justice, inclusion, and intersectionality in youth literature, culture, and media. Published twice per year, RDYL is is a peer-reviewed, online, open-access journal hosted by The Center for Children's Books, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Librarian Amy Koester discusses why librarians need to confront their own privilege when selecting and promoting books in the library.

Dashka Slater's analysis of the whiteness of children's literature.

School Library Journal article by author Padma Venkatraman, who argues that so-called "classics" with racist aspects should be replaced with contemporary works by diverse authors.