The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), in collaboration with the Children’s Book Council (CBC), hosted a Day of Diversity: Dialogue and Action in Children’s Literature and Library Program on Jan. 30, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. This invitation-only event brought together leaders in children’s literature and literacy to discuss strategies for ensuring that all children have access 
to diverse literature and library programming. Recognizing the conversations at the event was of interest to a much larger audience than we were able to accommodate at the Day of Diversity, ALSC and the CBC Diversity Committee sponsored a follow up program at ALA Midwinter.
For more information about the Day of Diversity please see the ALA Press Release: ALSC, CBC announce Day of Diversity: Dialogue and Action
After the Day of Diversity, the ALSC Board of Directors reflected on the Day of Diversity and put together a list of commitments by the Association for the next three months and the next six months. Information about these next steps can be found on the ALSC Blog.
Materials and Resources from the Day of Diversity, as well as links to ALSC’s follow up activities can be found on this page.
Organizers
The Day of Diversity: Dialogue and Action in Children’s Literature and Library Programming is presented by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) in collaboration with the Children’s Book Council (CBC). Members who make up the planning task force for the day include: Allie Jane Bruce (co-chair), Jamie Campbell Naidoo (co-chair), Antonio Gonzalez (CBC rep), Zareen Jaffery (CBC rep), Claudette McLinn, Ana-Elba Pavon (REFORMA rep), Nancy Snyder, Gretchen Wronka, Ayanna Coleman (CBC task force administrator), and Joanna Ison (ALSC task force administrator).
Sponsors
The Day of Diversity: Dialogue and Action in Children’s Literature and Library Programming was made possible through the Everyone Reads @ your library grant; awarded to ALSC by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. The Day of Diversity Networking Reception was made possible through the generosity of the Chicago Public Library and Friends of ALSC.
Recommended Readings
The below readings articles and websites were suggested readings to participants prior to the Day of Diversity.
Diversity in Children’s Literature: History and Myths
- Still an all-White World? By Kathleen T. Horning
- The Publishing Perspective by Karen Springen
- This Trend Called Diversity by Sandra Rios Balderrama
- Children Are Not Colorblind: How Young Children Learn Race by Erin N. Winkler, Ph.D.
- Susan Nussbaum: The Powells.com Interview by Heidi Durrow
Literacy Programming: Forming Partnerships and Sharing Resources
- Chicago Hope: School librarian K.C. Boyd created a culture of readers at a struggling South Side high School by Mahnaz Dar
- The Importance of Diversity in Library Programs and Material Collections for Children by Jamie Campbell Naidoo, PhD
- Multiculturalism Happens: Targeting Multicultural Literacy in Libraries
Moving into Action
- Everyday Diversity: A Teacher Librarian Offers Practical Tips to Make a Difference by Crystal Brunelle
- LGBTQ & You: How to Support Your Students by Lauren Barack
- Deep Change: Diversity at its Simplest by Sandra Rios Balderrama
- Why Hasn't the Number of Multicultural Books Increased In Eighteen Years? by Jason Low
- Disability in Children's Literature by Liz Crow
Day of Diversity schedule, handouts, and presentations
Please note that we were unable to capture the entirety of the event through audio and video recordings, below are links to the portions of the day that were captured.
Agenda and Handouts
- Detailed Agenda - PDF/180KB
- Speaker Handouts - PDF/5MB
Keynote: From Broken Yolks to Party Folks: The Importance of Libraries and Literacy in Keeping Diversity Alive For Our Children
- PowerPoint presentation - ~3MB
- Link to video of speaker - 5+MB
Panel 1: Diversity in Children’s Literature: History and Myths
Panel 2: Literacy Programming: Forming Partnerships and Sharing Resources
- PowerPoint presentation - Part 1 - 3MB
- PowerPoint presentation - Part 2 - 6MB
- PowerPoint presentation - Part 3 - 6MB
Day of Diversity Recaps
Many participants in the Day of Diversity have shared their experience through online articles and blog posts. Read more about the day below!
- Elizabeth Bluemle: Diversity: One Thing You Can Do Now
- Edi Campbell: Rap It Up
- Zetta Elliott: Power Surge
- Maya Gonzales: ALSC'S Day of Diversity: one woman's ritual
- Wade Hudson: 10 Steps to Promote Diversity in Children's Literature
- Jason Low: ALA Midwinter Day of Diversity Recap and Reflections
- Andrew Medlar: Day of Diversity @ #alamw15
- Sarah Park Dahlen: ALSC Day of Diversity: Step It Up
- Lessa Pelayo-Lozada: First Up on the Agenda: Let's Talk About Diversity
- Debbie Reese: Do something dramatic! AICL's recap of ALA's Day of Diversity
- Don Tate: Day of Diversity, Pop Top Stage, Winter Storm
- K. Imani Tennyson: Day of Diversity: A Recap