Rainbow Reflections: Exploring LGBTQIA+ Representation in Curriculum Materials Library Picture Book Collections

Presenter Information

Alicia G. Vaandering, University of Rhode IslandFollow
James Rosenzweig, Eastern Washington UniversityFollow
Amanda Melilli, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Type

Presentation

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/enaj-me25

Session Description

In order to prepare future preschool to twelfth grade (P-12) educators and researchers, it is vital that youth literature collections in academic libraries reflect diverse and intersecting identities. However, simply including books with historically underrepresented characters in our library collections is not enough. A deeper understanding of the breadth of representation is necessary to prepare students for the communities they will serve. Current and emerging librarians who work with pre-service educators and researchers must be well versed in the different types of representation found in youth literature and know how to communicate with their communities about the power of inclusive collections to reach and empower young readers.

In this presentation, the presenters will share their adaptation of the Diverse BookFinder categories (focused on racial and ethnic representation) to analyze LGBTQIA+ representation in picture books. In building a detailed glossary for classifying the representation of specific LGBTQIA+ identities, the presenters examined which identities are represented most prevalently, how frequently LGBTQIA+ characters are depicted with intersecting marginalized identities, and which identities are still lacking in picture book representation. Finally, the presenters will share their findings from a secondary analysis on the terminology used in picture book summaries and professional reviews to determine the scope of LGBTQIA+ visibility in information used by librarians and readers to discover LGBTQIA+ materials.

Type of Library

College Library; University Library

Keywords

LGBTQIA+ representation, diversity audit, picture books, children’s literature, curriculum materials, rainbow books

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Comments

https://doi.org/10.7275/enaj-me25