“What Are You Reading?”: How School Libraries Can Promote Racial Diversity in Multicultural Literature by Karen Elizabeth Lafferty

George, Chekesha 

In the article, "Analyzing the Diversity of a High School Library" by Sarah Jorgenson and Rene Burress, they discuss the importance of recognizing diversity not only in American society but also in school libraries. "Schools are culturally diverse places that have students and staff who represent varieties of race, culture, ability, sexual preference or identity, religion, gender, and class. School librarians serve all these individuals" (Buress & Jorgenson 2020). The authors go on to state that, "if the current collection of young adult fiction portrays only the typical white, heterosexual main character (Perez, para 8), then the collection does not allow for understanding and learning of other races, cultures, and abilities, nor does it allow for students of minority groups to see themselves represented in books. The modern school library must strive to continually add diverse titles to its collection so that all students feel represented and can find and read books to which they can relate" (Burres & Jorgenson 2020). The article goes on to guide school librarians in the various ways that they can ensure that they are diversifying their collections to serve in the best interest of the students they serve.

This article resonated with me on a personal level. As a Black woman, it was not until my sophomore year in high school that I finally read a book written by an author of color. The first two novels I ever read where the protagonists were non- white was Amy Tan's The Kitchen God's Wife and Native Son by Richard Wright. As an adult, I have never forgotten the impact that these novels had on me. After reading these books in my Honors English class, I was eager to read more multicultural books. This became one of my favorite genres. There is something so powerful and endearing about reading books that teach you about cultural experiences outside of your own. "In order to serve all students, school librarians must be ready to advocate and promote diversity within their own environment. Placing diverse books in the hands of students helps develop empathy and understanding, allowing students to get to know those around them. By being knowledgeable and accessible, and by providing diverse resources for students, school librarians help students to grow and understand each other and themselves" (Burress & Jorgenson). As a librarian and life-long learner, I am comforted in knowing that there is finally research and literature to support why diverse literature is and will continue to be important in library collections. 

Citation: Jorgenson, Sarah, and Rene Burress. "ANALYZING THE DIVERSITY OF A HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY COLLECTION." Knowledge Quest, vol. 48, no. 5, May-June 2020, pp. 48+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A626204945/AONE?u=csusj&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=5ef3ada5. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Quality Multicultural Materials

This article discussed the importance of having multicultural materials in every library collection, and what Lincoln, Nebraska did to ensure that they purchased quality titles for their students. The endeavor is titled Mosaic, Multicultural Book Collection and it started out as a small book exhibit and has evolved over the years to remain relevant with new and improved technology. The first major change incorporated QR codes attached to titles that link to book trailers or “snippets of historical videos in hopes of igniting interest and expanding learning.”  Multicultural makerspace materials, audio files of music from all over the world, and virtual reality headsets were also included. The project then further developed to be a virtual display so that anyone can access it at any time: https://lms.lps.libguides.com/MOSAIC2018    The project is committed to using materials that are high quality and do not confirm negative stereotypes. Haeffner & Harvey outline the process of how materials are chosen “many hours of research and consideration are involved in the review process to ensure that titles do not perpetuate stereotypes or misinformation” (p. 19). I love the idea of this resource and can’t wait to use it in my own school library and share it with my colleagues. 

References

Haeffner, C., & Harvey, J. (2019). Mosaic: One district's approach to maximizing use of multicultural collections. Teacher Librarian, 47(1), 18-21. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=140246715&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed March 14, 2020.

"The Uncomfortable Truth about Children's Books" - from Mother Jones Magazine - Sept. 2016

Christopher Fluetsch

Slater, D. (2016, September 9). The uncomfortable truth about children’s books. Mother Jones. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/media/2016/08/diversity-childrens-books-slavery-twitter

    I started reading Mother Jones magazine back in high school, partly for the articles, but mostly because if you were in high school in Lodi, CA, in the late-80’s, reading Mother Jones was the second-most rebellious thing you could do, right after coming out, and was a lot less likely to get you beaten up on a regular basis. Plus, it always felt like an adventure to drive to the one magazine store in south Stockton that stocked Mother Jones, right next to the latest issue of Pravda.

I never really considered that 3 decades later I’d still be reading it. It just goes to show that you never can tell where literacy will take you.

This article is a well-written overview of some of the problems facing librarians, parents and others in creating a diverse collection of children’s literature. It discusses the business of publishing, the negative feedback loop created when multicultural books are published but don’t sell, leading to few such books, leading to non-white potential readers ignoring books that are available and so forth. It also touches on some of the recent controversies in children’s publishing, including the withdrawal from sale of A Birthday Cake for George Washington.

An important aspect of the article for library science students is the section that looks at gatekeeping. We are gatekeepers, whether we like it or not, and the decisions we make affect what our students read. Keeping this in mind through the entire process, from collection development to in-library marketing, will help us better serve our clients.

Including books that represent and appeal to a diverse patron population is an important challenge for librarians of all types. I find this is particularly true in my elementary school library. I try to select a wide array of books, and I try to encourage students to read outside their own personal comfort zones, but locating and acquiring a variety of such books is difficult. The article does not offer any major solutions, but it does a good job offering an overview of some of the problems.

Building a Multicultural School Library

Hubschman, Amy Resource:

Agosto, D. E. (2007). Building a multicultural school library: Issues and challenges. Teacher Librarian, 34(3), 27-31.

Summary:
This article discusses the many problems, issues, and obstacles that libraries encounter when developing a collection that can properly meet the needs of a culturally diverse community.  The author suggests there are a set of five specific criteria to use when developing a collection for a multicultural community.  The author further suggests that librarians should follow the criteria to ensure that ELL patrons feel connected and correctly represented in the library.    

Evaluation:

Living in a central suburb area of Texas I found this article extremely helpful and relevant to me on a personal level.  I don’t speak Spanish and considering many of the patrons I will eventually encounter do I find it very important to understand their needs in developing a library collection.  ELL patrons should be adequately represented in my future library and understanding the specific issues one might encounter when obtaining materials for them is important to be aware of.  
One of the five criteria listed by the author was “accuracy”.  Spanish is not always the same.  The Spanish speaking world is very diverse.  Teaching at a school with a high Hispanic enrollment I've already seen the struggles our librarian has faced trying to find accurate materials.  She has to know the students, know where they come from, and know which forms of Spanish they speak and which forms they read.  Do the students speak Latin American Spanish, Castilian Spanish, Trade Winds Spanish, or another form?
It’s important for students to be properly represented in their libraries.  Without an accurate representation of themselves the students will have a much harder time developing a sense of ownership and belonging to their libraries.