Controversy surrounding Dr. Seuss is not new. In recent years, more scrutiny has been placed on the depictions of Seuss characters in regards to ethnicity and race. The decision by Dr. Seuss Enterprises to end publishing of six titles reignited discussions.
By Rachel Masilamani, rachel.masilamani@gmail.com. PLA2018 offered several excellent programs related to serving diverse communities, and improving institutional equity and inclusion. As a beneficiary of ALA’s Spectrum Scholarship Program, I have been personally and professionally engaged with these needs in libraries for my entire career. I believe that a crucial component of any public library’s success in […]
This winter, Brooklyn Public Library partnered with Bard College to invite students who have faced multiple barriers to higher education to enroll in free, credit-bearing classes taught by Bard faculty at our Central Library. Recently, some of us got a chance to meet the new cohort of seventeen students over lunch. It was the students’ second day of classes. The students were excited or nervous (or both) and were talkative and appreciative of the library and how welcoming it was. They all seemed to share a readiness to jump into reading, discussing, and learning about new ideas, and developing and expanding upon their own. This is a group, like other groups of college students, where lifelong friendships are bound to form.
This lack of diversity has been lamented as a problem for decades, yet in spite of efforts to increase the diversity of the library workforce, there has been minimal progress. Much has been written about how to increase diversity in libraries, including suggestions for improving every step of the process from library and information science education, to hiring and retaining a more diverse workforce, to developing diverse collections and library programs. Libraries are not the only work setting that faces a problem with diversity. However, given that the public library is a forum that serves a variety of communities and interests, it is critical to develop a public library workforce that more accurately reflects the diverse backgrounds that public libraries serve.
As much as I love my local library, it has become predictable in its timing and placement of diverse books. In February, I can always count on seeing a large selection of books promoting Black History Month. Many of these titles I’ve never seen throughout the year, but because it’s Black History Month, there they all are, standing proud, front and center. The same is true for National Hispanic Month from mid-September to mid-October, Asian Pacific American month in May, and American Indian Heritage month in November. For the other eight months of the year, the displays are filled with the usual books featuring white characters or happy-friendly animals.
If confirmed, this will be a tremendous first for female librarians and librarians of color.
The St. Paul Public Library in Minnesota is proving that the public library is one of the most valuable places in town, especially for an under-represented immigrant population — the Karen. In December, mayor Chris Coleman announced that the library had curated and published two Karen language children’s books, which were then handed out at a special book launch and read at a December storytime.
Providing equal access to all library patrons is an essential component of every library’s mandate. In fact, the ALA Mission Statement asserts that librarians must “ensure access to information for all.” With that in mind, the ALA Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion hosted a workshop at ALA Midwinter on how librarians can become more aware of and even work against systemic racism: “If I Hadn’t Believed It, I Wouldn’t Have Seen It: Exploring Systemic Racism and Its Implications for Our Lives and Work.”
Back when I was in school settings, first as teacher and later as librarian, I greatly adored the publication Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. When I left educational institutions and entered the public library system, my commitment to issues of diversity, equality, and justice remained strong. Over the years in the public library, I have struggled with how to continue to “teach tolerance” while not in the role of “teacher.” I have tried to pursue these values in different ways for not only the public but also for the staff and my library board. For my community, I have engaged these concepts through collection development, displays, and programming. For staff, I have provided both formal professional development opportunities and informal discussion on the distinctions between difference and danger. For the library board, I’ve crafted policy to support these values and explained the importance of being conscious of these issues and implementing policy.
As you look around libraryland, you’ll see quite a bit about 21st century libraries, services, and 21st century literacies. In 2014, after a yearlong forum, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) released the report, The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action, which specifically addresses 21st century teens and their needs.[1]
If you work with children’s books and go online, there’s no way you can miss the colorful logo of the “We Need Diverse Books” (WNDB) campaign, which launched in 2014. What started as a tweet between creators Malinda Lo and Ellen Oh has turned into a grassroots movement that has bloggers, authors, librarians, and publishers getting involved and addressing the need for diverse characters and narratives in children’s literature.
When challenged with serving New York City’s most linguistically diverse borough, the Queens Library in New York City has flourished instead and created a mosaic that celebrates the Queens community’s wonderful multiculturalism.
Children look for themselves in the books that they read. Libraries need to have books that represent the rainbow of diverse cultures that are in our communities. Books that promote diversity should be celebrated every day, not just on holidays.
Children look for themselves in the books that they read. Libraries need to have books that represent the rainbow of diverse cultures that are in our communities. Books that promote diversity should be celebrated every day, not just on holidays.
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