Image courtesy of We Need Diverse Books (diversebooks.org)

 

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7E3Dc3tOll

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY

 

For this activity I decided to review a vlog webinar posted by the New York Library Association (NYLA) about building a diverse and inclusive young adult collection (see Appendix C for vlog review). The webinar explains what diverse and inclusive means in terms of a library collection and outlines some criteria on how to choose inclusive and diverse books to help grow your collection. The reading guide included in the presentation provided examples of some recent books that could be integrated into a library’s young adult collections. I found it to be an informative and educational resource for library and information professionals who are wanting to expand their collections.

 

WHAT DID I LEARN?

 

Watching this vlog has shown me why it is important for a library and librarians to provide culturally diverse and inclusive works in their collections. As the New York Library Association (2018) noted in their video description “We are striving to curate our collections to be the mirrors and windows of a teen’s life into adulthood” (para. 1). In providing selection criteria of how the NYLA determine what books to add to their collection and by including a reading guide that provided relevant examples I learned that it is culturally important that libraries offer a wide range of works for children and young adults.

 

HOW WAS THE ACTIVITY RELEVANT?

When looking at creating a diverse and inclusive collection, Blintt (2020) noted that young people need to be able to see themselves in the stories they read, which reflect their backgrounds and cultures and expand their world view. It is also relevant to make sure that the works you are selecting for the collection do not solely represent stereotypical cultural norms, for example not all black characters are slaves (New York Library Association, 2018, 30:15-30:34). By providing literature with diverse topics and characters it is possible for young readers to identify and connect with narratives which help them develop empathy and critical thinking (Blintt, 2020).

 

WHAT WERE THE GAPS IN MY KNOWLEDGE?

 

Before watching this video, I did not realise the criteria that went into selecting books for a young adult collection, whether this be for a regular collection or a diverse collection. By first explaining what was considered to be diverse and inclusive before giving certain criteria that could be used to add to a collection, I found this to be an informational resource that I would revisit in the future to help me make appropriate choices for my collection users. On a comment about an author for a book featured in the reading guide, I explored the website We need diverse books (2021) and found this to be excellent resource for promoting the need for diversity and inclusion in our libraries and schools.

 

References

Blinnt, J. (2020, October 20). The importance of a diverse classroom library. Literacy Now. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-now/2020/10/20/the-importance-of-a-diverse-classroom-library

New York Library Association [NYLA1890]. (2018, September 26). Building a diverse and inclusive ya library collection [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7E3Dc3tOlI

We need diverse books (2021). We need diverse books. https://diversebooks.org/

We need diverse books (2021). [Image]. https://diversebooks.org/about-wndb/