#9: Kids like to see themselves →

From Emma:

I am probably a bit over-preoccupied with filling displays anyway, so I regularly check our new picture book area and refill the empty book stands. Although I suspect it’s much better than it was even 5 or 10 years ago, it can be hard to find items in the collection that reflect the diversity of the community. I find that I don’t have much trouble finding books featuring black characters, but I often struggle to find enough titles with Hispanic characters on the covers. The neighborhood where my library is located is about 75% Hispanic, but our picture book display is usually about 25% Hispanic. Practicing this tip is a good reminder to check on how the collection overall is doing, and to make notes of any gaps to fill later by ordering new materials.

When the pickings are slim, sometimes what I do is just take off some of the books with white kids on the covers and replace them with books with animals on the covers, since at least then kids aren’t seeing a bunch of images of people who don’t look like them. Plus, animals are cool.