We NEED Diverse Books! Exploring Issues of Diversity in Children’s & YA Literature

It’s about time we talked about diversity in books for children and teens.

A 2012 study by the CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) revealed some startling facts:

Of the 3,600 books the Cooperative Children’s Book Center reviewed in 2012:

• 3% were about Africans/African Americans; 1.8% were written by Africans/African Americans
• 1.5% were about Latinos; 1.6% were written by Latinos
• Less than 1% were about American Indians; less than 1% were written by American Indians
• 2% were about Asian Pacifics/Asian Pacific Americans; 2.3% were written by Asian Pacifics/Asian Pacific Americans

Diversity in children’s and YA literature isn’t limited to race or ethnicity; it encompasses the inclusion of all perspectives, regardless of religious background, sexual orientation, gender, class, or disability.

Learning Objectives:
After participating in this webinar, library staff will be able to:

• Explain why all librarians who work with children and teens should be aware of the lack diversity in children’s literature, and how this lack could be detrimental to a child’s development as a lifelong reader and learner.  
• Adapt and modify existing programs and collection development policies to better serve children of diverse backgrounds.
• Identify groundbreaking works of children’s and YA literature that feature or are written by people of diverse backgrounds.
• Identify print and online resources for staying up-to-date on new and upcoming diverse children’s and YA titles.