Inclusive Collections For Supercharged Storytimes

Varela, Tiffany 

WebJunction. (2023, December 27). Inclusive collections for supercharged storytimes.            https://www.webjunction.org/news/webjunction/inclusive-collections.html 

Summary:

Highlights the importance of building diverse and representative collections for children’s programs. Storytime helps shape how children see themselves and others. Choosing books that reflect the identities in our communities, while also introducing new perspectives, supports a sense of belonging and encourages understanding.

The article emphasizes that inclusive collections require intentional, ongoing effort. Librarians should regularly assess their materials to ensure a wide range of voices and experiences are represented, especially those that have been historically underrepresented. It also highlights useful tools such as curated booklists, review sources, and professional development opportunities to support inclusive selection and programming. A central idea is that books act as mirrors, windows, and doors, reflecting children’s lives, offering insight into others, and opening pathways to new experiences.

Overall, the article reminds us that inclusive storytime collections are built through thoughtful practice and play a key role in fostering empathy and connection.

Evaluation:

The article provides a clear and practical overview of why inclusive collections matter in children’s library services. It effectively connects theory to practice by focusing on storytime and how book choices influence children’s sense of identity and understanding of others. The “mirrors, windows, and doors” concept is used well as a simple guide for selecting materials.

A key strength is its emphasis on intentionality, presenting inclusive collection building as an ongoing responsibility. The inclusion of booklists, tools, and training resources makes it useful for librarians looking to improve their work. There is a generous list of resources to refer to when it comes to selection. However, the article stays at a general level. It offers limited guidance on how to evaluate collections in a systematic way and does not fully address challenges such as budget limits or community concerns.

Overall, it serves as a strong introduction that highlights the importance of inclusive practices, though additional detail would be helpful for deeper implementation.

Case Study: Sorting Your Collection Into Chunks

Stevens, Tyler

Mímisson, K., & Ólafsson, D. (Eds.). (2025). Objects in the Archives: Modern Material Culture and Heritage in the North (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003350293

Runarsdottir, A. (2025). "In pursuit of modernity? On collecting and aesthetics in Iceland." Objects in the Archives: Modern Material Culture and Heritage in the North (1st ed.) 85-99. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003350293

Summary: Objects in the Archives is a collection of articles written by a team of historians, archaeologists, and archivists examining several collections which have been gathered by the National Archives of Iceland. Mímisson and his team's primary claim is that there exists a unique relationship between humans and the things which they gather; things possess a certain agency which transforms and informs the personality and identity of people they're around.

In the article by Runarsdottir, "In pursuit of modernity?" she examines this relationship while breaking down the National Archives' first collection, which was gathered by its first national antiquarian, Matthias Þórðarson. By breaking the collection down into chunks and assessing it in the context of Þórðarson's past, Runarsdottir examines the value judgements made in determining what should be kept and observed that many of his choices included items which aligned Iceland culture with Western modernist values. As an example, she notes that 18% of his collected artifacts were "costumes or clothing," with preference towards womenswear and finer clothing with beautiful embroidery over everyday clothing (which would have been passed down and worn down to their bare threads, but could have reasonably been collected) and claims that this was an intentional preservation choice made by Þórðarson to inform his message that Iceland should be considered as a respectable Western nation.

Evaluation: Our focus on collections development in this class is primarily in the discipline of librarianship. While this essay focuses primarily on collections in a museum context, Runarsdottir provides an excellent example of breaking down a comprehensive inventory of a multi-media collection into chunks as she evaluates the original collector's value judgements. She assesses the collection as a whole and identifies chunks which were considered significant, such as costumes and clothing (a general chunk). Runarsdottir further identifies specialized chunks like womenswear within costumes and clothing. The comprehensive breakdown alone makes this article valuable for our study of these concepts. This further connects to the larger anthology's hypothesis to elaborate on humanity's unique relationship with the objects around them by demonstrating how we use objects to project identity and define culture. Likewise, library collections have similar agency impact identity and define culture. It may be useful for us to consider books and collection chunks as possessing similar agency as Runarsdottir describes: being able to inform and transform using more than just the text on their pages. I will go further into this in a future blog post on 3 Keys to Collection Development.

Libraries as Infrastructure

Brandes-Miesner, Marta

Mattern, S. (2014). Libraries as Infrastructure. Places Journal. Retrieved from https://placesjournal.org/article/library-as-infrastructure/

Summary:

The subtitle of this article really says it all: Reading room, social service center, innovation lab. How far can we stretch the public library? The author of this article proposes that in our quest to continue to redefine the role of libraries now and in the future, that we must view the library as a network of evolving infrastructures-that is specifically, of an architectural, technological, social, epistemological and ethical foundation. This will help guide us in identifying how we want our libraries to serve and what can reasonably be expected of them. She goes on to state that the library has always evolved to be a host for informative and social needs. She doesn’t like the libraries as platforms metaphor because it is too, 2 dimensional.  It implies that the library only   lays out resources for people to consume. Rather, libraries are everywhere and persistent because they act as mediators in defining the cultural values of our communities. However, libraries are also “opportunity institutions” and “cultural refuges”, keepers of the homeless, sitters of latch-key children, election sites, etc., which begs the question, how can we do it all? The article goes on to explore all of the different challenges that libraries venture to take on and in turn offer up to the public as opportunities-from maker-spaces, science labs, career centers, technology petting zoos, game-labs to hacker-labs and even robots retrieving books! So now we are becoming consumed with the combination of knowledge consumption and production. The authors point is that libraries need to stay focused on their long-term goals for communities and on the ways in which it symbolizes our cultural priorities beyond consumerism and the fiscal aspects of society. Yes, libraries still need to offer opportunities, but we also need to retain our intellectual and ethical goals. Libraries need to incorporate these other aspirations   by allowing other institutions to partner with us in more mutual, more reciprocal circumstances.  Finally, we need to keep our intellectual and ethical goals at the forefront of our mission.

Evaluation:

This was a very interesting article, but the author took some time to make her point. I think we do need to keep sight of our goals and reassess the ways in which we fulfill them. Libraries should also depend more upon outside resources if they are going to fully incorporate some of these new visions for the library’s purpose, lest we just become promoters for the latest technology. We need be careful to retain and uphold the library’s role as mediators of knowledge, culture and ethical societies.

Maker Spaces in Libraries

The Makings of Maker Spaces, Part 1: Space for Creation, Not Just Consumption

written by Lauren Britton (2012), provides an informative exploration of what maker spaces are and what they mean for libraries and their local communities. The maker space movement has been pushed forward over the last couple years thanks to the innovation of public libraries and some museums. 

While Britton's article isn't the most current information on maker spaces available, the quality and content of this piece is worth checking into. Britton provides an example of different benefits of the spaces, "Maker spaces also acknowledge green concerns by reconnecting consumers to the labor involved in producing what they use". The way makers approach and understand objects encourages engagement and innovation. While schools are working to bring STEM activities into classrooms for students, inadvertently it seems libraries have accomplished a similar endeavor for patron counterparts of all ages. 

This article further investigates what these spaces mean socially. Britton finds approaches to maker spaces suggesting the act of making is a political or social act. By encouraging individuals to make their own things and use different materials, these creators are discovering alternatives to our social reliance on the consumption of goods. In turn, people can make their goods. This causes a social change, regardless of how small, initially. 

Initiatives and involvement between different ages continues to expand, and the idea of these spaces evolves. Teens are a population who have truly excelled and taken the tools in maker spaces to create new ideas, objects, and media. 

The end of this article mentions a maker culture. It's inspiring to think that some simple changes that take place in libraries, schools, and museums have had such a profound effect on our social systems. I like to think these spaces empower people. 

Article Information:

The Makings of Maker Spaces, Part 1: Space for Creation, Not Just Consumption

By Lauren Britton on October 1, 2012

From

  

http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2012/10/public-services/the-makings-of-maker-spaces-part-1-space-for-creation-not-just-consumption/

Diverse Collections

by Bliss, Jennifer

Naidoo, J. (2014). The Importance of Diversity in library programs and material collections for children. Retrieved from: http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/ALSCwhitepaper_importance%20of%20diversity_with%20graphics_FINAL.pdf

This article discusses the need for diverse materials (print and digital) in all library spaces. Library collections should reflect the community, and since communities are made up of a variety of people, the collection of the library should as well, "Stories help children understand how society perceives their culture as well as the cultures of their classmates, teachers, caregivers, and others, thereby influencing their social identity development" (Naidoo, 2014, p2). The fact that we as librarians have the ability to have such as impact at defining their identity can be an overwhelming task, "Diverse, culturally authentic materials in library collections allow all children to meet people like themselves and develop an appreciation for the beauty of their culture and the cultures of others" (Naidoo, 2014, p3). 

If children only see stereotypes of their culture displayed, or worse, an absence of their culture, their perceptions are negatively effected. Activities such as El dia de los ninos (Children's Day) celebrates children and connects them to the wold of learning through books, stories, and libraries. It has been proven that, "including diversity in its programs and collections, the library has the potential for helping children make cross-cultural connections and develop the skills necessary to function in a culturally pluralistic society" (Naidoo, 2014, p5). 

Having the opportunity to change an attitude a child has towards a particular culture or group, has the potential to be rewarding and fulfilling. The article makes great points about the importance of incorporating and building a collection of materials that are rich in diversity. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of published work that offers that diverse perspective. According to Naidoo, in the last 20 years, the percentage of diverse books published has not changed (remains around 8%). 

U. of I. Library System Has Unique Collection of Indian Comic Books

Casso, Gillian

U. of I. Library System Has Unique Collection of Indian Comic Books

Heckel, J. (2015). U. of I. library system has unique collection of Indian comic books. Retrieved from http://news.illinois.edu/news/15/0128comic_books_MaraThacker.html

Summary: This article interviews Mara Thacker who is a librarian at the University of Illinois. She talks about collecting Indian comic books that are in Hindi. She goes on to say that she believes that the library has the largest Indian comic book collection in North American. In collaboration with the International and Area Studies Library and the Undergraduate Library Ms. Tucker was able to start the collection. A goal of this organization is for each member library to create its own area of specialization that benefits a national collection of materials without duplicating another member library collection. Ms. Thacker’s interest in Indian art and culture led to this collection being born. 

Evaluation: I think that it is amazing that Ms. Thacker was able to create a collection based on her personal interest in a particular culture. It explains in the article that the library already had a great Indian film collection and that this collection could enhance the Indian materials collection. Being able to share a unique collection that not every library has is great. This collection can also give students a unique perspective into Indian art and how the world of comics is viewed in India. I think that it would be interesting to compare English written comic books with Hindi written comic books and see what similarities and differences each has.