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Depictions of Diversity in Books Recommended for Storytime: A Cautionary Tale

  • Erin Ingram EMAIL logo and Maria Cahill
Published/Copyright: June 29, 2022
Libri
From the journal Libri Volume 72 Issue 4

Abstract

Elements of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in diverse books support children’s intellectual, social, and emotional development. Public library storytime programs serve as venues to showcase books with characters of varied backgrounds, identities, and experiences who may or may not reflect those of the communities the libraries serve. Because storytime providers often rely on online resources to plan their programs, it is important to investigate the presence and quality of EDI elements in books recommended for storytimes by these resources. The present study analyzed the text, illustrations, and WorldCat metadata for a random sample of 481 children’s books recommended by six popular online resources for storytime planning. Results revealed an overall lack of EDI in the recommended books with few characters representing parallel cultures, living with a disability or chronic illness, practicing a religion other than Christianity, or communicating in a language other than English. The paper includes implications for storytime providers and library administrators in the areas of program planning, professional development, and program assessment.

Keywords: children’s programming; diversity; equity; inclusion; public library
Corresponding author: Erin Ingram, St Bernard Branch, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, 10 McClelland Ave, 45217 Cincinnati, OH, USA, E-mail:

Funding source: Institute of Museum and Library Services

Award Identifier / Grant number: LG-96-17-0199-17

Appendix A: Online resources in this study’s random sample

Esther. 2012. “Welcome to My Storytime Wiki.” Esther Storytimes. PBworks. http://estherstorytimes.pbworks.com/w/page/19315771/FrontPage (accessed October 29, 2019).

Fitzgerald, K. 2015. “Book Lists.” Storytime Secrets (blog). https://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/p/books.html (accessed October 26, 2019).

Kaap, J. 2019. “Category: Preschool Storytimes.” Silly Librarian. http://sillylibrarian.com/blog/?cat=5 (accessed October 24, 2019).

Krabbenhoft, L., and D. Horrocks. 2019. “Storytime Resources.” Jbrary. https://jbrary.com/category/storytime-resources/ (accessed October 20, 2019).

McManus, J. 2018. “Themes for Storytime.” MCLS Kids. Pbworks. http://mclskids.pbworks.com/w/page/26296055/Themes%20for%20Storytime (accessed October 31, 2019).

Salo, K. 2014. “Themes.” Storytime Katie. https://storytimekatie.com/themes/ (accessed October 20, 2019).

Appendix B: Awards for Children’s Books

  1. American Indian Youth Literature Awards, sponsored by the American Indian Library Association – http://ailanet.org/activities/american-indian-youth-literature-award/

  2. Américas Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, sponsored by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs – http://claspprograms.org/pages/detail/68/Award-Winners

  3. Arab American Book Award, sponsored by the Arab American National Museum – https://arabamericanmuseum.org/book-awards/

  4. Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, sponsored by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association – http://www.apalaweb.org/awards/literature-awards/

  5. Batchelder Award, sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children – http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/batchelderaward/batchelderpast

  6. Carter G. Woodson Book Award, sponsored by the National Council for Social Studies – https://www.socialstudies.org/get-involved/carter-g-woodson-book-award-and-honor-winners

  7. Christian Book Award, sponsored by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association – https://christianbookawards.com/winners.html

  8. Coretta Scott King Book Awards, sponsored by the American Library Association’s Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) – http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/index.cfm

  9. Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award, sponsored by the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities – https://www.dollygrayaward.com/home

  10. Hans Christian Andersen Awards, sponsored by the International Board on Books for Young People – https://www.ibby.org/awards-activities/awards/hans-christian-andersen-awards

  11. Jane Addam’s Children’s Book Awards, sponsored by the Jane Addams Peace Association – https://www.janeaddamschildrensbookaward.org/

  12. Pura Belpré Award, sponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children and REFORMA – http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/belpremedal

  13. Schneider Family Book Award, sponsored by Katherine Schneider and the American Library Association – http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/schneider-family-book-award

  14. Skipping Stones Honor Awards, sponsored by Skipping Stones, an international educational magazine – https://www.skippingstones.org/wp/book-awards/

  15. South Asia Book Award, sponsored by the South Asia National Outreach Consortium – https://southasiabookaward.wisc.edu/

  16. Stonewall Book Award – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award, sponsored by the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) – http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/stonewall-book-awards-mike-morgan-larry-romans-children’s-young-adult-literature-award

  17. Sydney Taylor Book Award, sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries – https://jewishlibraries.starchapter.com/images/downloads/Sydney_Taylor_Book_Award/stbaallawardwinnersever.pdf

  18. Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children’s Literature, sponsored by We Need Diverse Books – https://diversebooks.org/programs/walter-awards/

Appendix C: Websites with Recommendations for Diverse Children’s Literature

https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/p/best-books.html

Debbie Reese, writer of the blog American Indians in Children’s Literature recommends “Best Books” written by or about American Indians or First Nations people, organized by publication year.

http://booksforkidsingayfamilies.blogspot.com/

Patricia A. Sarles reviews and indexes children’s books with LGBTQ characters.

https://thebrownbookshelf.com/2021/01/03/african-american-childrens-book-projects-best-picture-books-of-2020/

Curated by Varian Johnson and colleagues who provide recommendations for African American children’s books.

https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/diversity-statistics-book-search/

Search among recently published children’s books by categories such as diversity subject and aspects of the primary character. Indexed by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center which assigns a star to recommended books.

http://www.clrsig.org/nbgs-lists.html

Notable Books for a Global Society chosen annually by a Children’s Literature and Reading Special Interest Group from the International Literacy Association.

https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit-resources/read/diversity/multicultural/multi_biblio/

Multicultural Children’s and Young Adult Books reviewed by Cynthia Leitich Smith.

http://decoloresreviews.blogspot.com

Beverly Slapin and colleagues review books written in Spanish and English for the blog De Colores: The Raza Experience in Books for Children.

http://dia.ala.org/content/free-program-downloads

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) Diversity Initiative book lists, updated yearly.

https://diversebookfinder.org/category/collection/

Various recommendations for high quality children’s books about Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) characters published since 2002.

http://en.childrenslibrary.org/books/index.shtml

The International Children’s Digital Library is a searchable database of free ebooks written in many languages as well as in English and another language.

https://feministbooksforkids.com/category/picture-books/

Recommendations curated by topics such as “29 Children’s Books About Female Scientists,” “10 Children’s Books About Blended Families,” and “12 Children’s Books About Gentle Boys and Men” from a self-described writer, mom, and activist.

http://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/

The Rainbow List, recommendations from members of the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT), organized by publication year and genre.

https://www.ibby.org/awards-activities/awards/ibby-honour-list

Honour Lists of titles chosen biennially by members of the International Board on Books for Young People.

https://www.slj.com/?detailStory=muslim-representation-in-picture-books

School Library Journal contributors Sara G. Ahmed, Mahasin Abuwi Aleem, Ariana Sani Hussain, and Hadeal Salamah recommend picture books with Muslim characters.

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Published Online: 2022-06-29
Published in Print: 2022-12-16

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Disinformation and Its Negative Impact in the Changing World of Mass Media (Specifically Focused on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Republic)
  3. User Participation in Archival Knowledge Structures: Archival Description as Domain and Testing Ground
  4. Contextual Factors Affecting the Cooperation of Vietnamese Academic Libraries in Information Resource Sharing
  5. Investigating Role of Technological and Organizational Factors Towards Students’ Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Pakistan
  6. A Note on Law and Economics of Legal Deposit Systems
  7. Depictions of Diversity in Books Recommended for Storytime: A Cautionary Tale
  8. The Roles of Social Media in Information Services: Systematic Review and Expert Scrutiny
  9. Libri Best Student Research Paper Award 2023
https://doi.org/10.1515/libri-2021-0126
Keywords for this article
children’s programming; diversity; equity; inclusion; public library

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Disinformation and Its Negative Impact in the Changing World of Mass Media (Specifically Focused on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Republic)
  3. User Participation in Archival Knowledge Structures: Archival Description as Domain and Testing Ground
  4. Contextual Factors Affecting the Cooperation of Vietnamese Academic Libraries in Information Resource Sharing
  5. Investigating Role of Technological and Organizational Factors Towards Students’ Knowledge Sharing Behavior in Pakistan
  6. A Note on Law and Economics of Legal Deposit Systems
  7. Depictions of Diversity in Books Recommended for Storytime: A Cautionary Tale
  8. The Roles of Social Media in Information Services: Systematic Review and Expert Scrutiny
  9. Libri Best Student Research Paper Award 2023
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