Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: Resources and Sources (Part 3)
In this final post on doing my diversity audit, I just wanted to share my sources and resources with you. It’s also available in the PDF outline of my process, but since these are clickable links you may prefer to access them this way. Also, if you know of additional book lists or titles that you would like to recommend, please add them in the comments.
Diversity in Publishing
The Diversity Baseline Survey | Lee & Low Books
Infographic Series: The Diversity Gap | Lee & Low Books
SLJ Resources for Diversity in Kid and YA Lit | School Library Journal
We Need Diverse Books | Official site of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks
Children’s Book Council (CBC) Diversity ;CBC Diversity Initiative | Children’s Book Council
Cooperative Children’s Book Center: Publishing Stats on Children’s Books and Diversity
Population Statistics
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts selected: UNITED STATES
LGBT America: By the Numbers | Washington Week – PBS
Doing a Diversity Audit
Diversity in Collection Development – American Library Association
Having Students Analyze Our Classroom Library To See How Diverse It Is
Diversity in Libraries–From Collections and Community to Staff
Third Graders Assess and Improve Diversity of Classroom Library
How You Can Support the #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign
Additional Resources: Book Lists and New Releases
Diversity in YA (General)
We Need Diverse Books | Official site of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks
Book Lists | Diversity in YA – www.diversityinya.com/category/book-lists/
Diversity in Young Adult and Middle Grade (1351 books) – Goodreads
31 Young Adult Books With Diverse Characters Literally Everyone
Diversity YA Life: Diverse Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror – The Hub
Diversity YA Life: Urban Fiction – The Hub
Rich in Color | Reading & Reviewing Diverse YA Books – richincolor.com/
Diversify YA Life: Horror with Diverse Characters
50 Years of Diversity in Young Adult Literature by Edith Campbell
60 Diverse Books To Look for in 2017
10 Diverse Books by YA Authors of Color to Read in 2017 | Teen Vogue
Faces of Color on 2017 YA Books – Book Riot
Asian American Protagonists
Best Asian-American Teen Fiction (156 books) – Goodreads
A Round-Up of Awesome Asian American Protagonists in YA Lit
11 Young Adult Novels By Asian-American Authors – Bustle
LatinX Representation
13 Upcoming YA Books By Latinx Authors To Start Getting Excited
9 Books By Latinx Authors I Wish I Had As A Teenager – Bustle
Latinxs in Kid Lit – https://latinosinkidlit.com/
Native American Representation
American Indians in Children’s Literature
#OwnVoices Representation: Native American Authors – YA Interrobang
Teen Books With Native American Characters and Stories (66 books)
Some thoughts on YA lit and American Indians – American Indians in Children’s Literature/Debbie Reese
Books Outside The Box: Native Americans – The Hub
Teen Books by Native Writers to Trumpet Year-Round | School Library
POC Leads
10 Diverse Books by YA Authors of Color to Read in 2017 | Teen Vogue
Faces of Color on 2017 YA Books – Book Riot
12 Young Adult Novels With POC Protagonists – Bustle
14 YA Books About LGBTQ People of Color – The B&N Teen Blog
LGBTQAI+
YA Pride (formerly Gay YA) : YA Pride (@YA_Pride) | Twitter
30 Essential LGBT Books for YA Readers – AbeBooks
100 Must-Read LGBTQIA YA Books – Book Riot
23 of Our Most Anticipated LGBTQA YA Books of 2017 – The B&N
72 Must-Read YA Books Featuring Gay Protagonists – Epic Reads
Disability in YA Lit
Disability in Kidlit — Reviews, articles, and more about the portrayal of …
People First: Disabilities in YA Lit – The Hub
Feminist YA
50 Crucial Feminist YA Novels – The B&N Teen Blog
34 Young Adult Books Every Feminist Will Love – BuzzFeed
100 Young Adult Books for the Feminist Reader | Bitch Media
Body Acceptance
5 Body-Positive YA Reads to Take to the Beach – The B&N Teen Blog
Celebrating Every Body: 25 Body Image Positive Books for Mighty Girls
7 Body Positive YA Books That Slay | Brit + Co
Julie Murphy’s ‘Dumplin’ And 6 Other Body Positive YA Novels – Bustle
Religious Diversity in YA
#FSYALit at Teen Librarian Toolbox
Rich in Color | Six YA Books with Middle Eastern or Muslim Protagonists
Diversity in YA Literature: Muslim Teens – The Hub
Jewish Themed Young Adult Books, Not About The Holocaust
The Big Five (+1) in YA: Atheism and Agnosticism – The Hub
The Big Five (+1) in YA: Buddhism – The Hub
Mental Health in YA
#MHYALit at Teen Librarian Toolbox
29 YA Books About Mental Health That Actually Nail It – BuzzFeed
16 YAs That Get it Right: Mental Health Edition – The B&N Teen Blog
YA novels that get real about mental health – HelloGiggles
11 YA Novels That Deal With Mental Health Issues – Bustle
10 Must-Read YA Books That Also Talk About Mental Health – Healthline
Socio-Economic Diversity in YA Lit
Socio-Economic Diversity in YA Lit
Rich Teen, Poor Teen: Books that depict teens living in poverty
#SJYALit: A Bibliography of MG and YA Lit Featuring Homeless Youth
Own Voices
MG/YA/NA #ownvoices (216 books) – Goodreads
#OwnVoices in Disability and Neurodiversity | The Daily Dahlia
11 of Our Most Anticipated #OwnVoices Reads of 2017
10 Amazing #OwnVoices Reads from 2016
LGBTQA Science Fiction and Fantasy YA by #OwnVoices Authors
Don’t forget to check out the hasthag #OwnVoices on Twitter
New Releases
YA Books Central – www.yabookscentral.com/
Teen Reads – www.teenreads.com
Book Riot – www.bookriot.com
Barnes and Noble Teen Blog – www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/teen/
YA Interrobang – www.yainterrobang.com
YA Lit – www.yalit.com
Epic Reads – www.epicreads.com
Pop Crush – www.popcrush.com
Bustle – www.bustle.com
Adventures in YA – www.adventuresinya.com
Coming Soon
17 Upcoming YA by Authors of Color: Bustle
Teens of Color on 2018 YA Book Covers – STACKED – books
2018 YA/MG Books With POC Leads (120 books) – Goodreads
Thirteen YA Books That Feature POC Leads Coming to You This 2018
17 YA Books By Authors Of Color To Look Out For In The First Half Of 2018
2018 YA Books with (Possible) LGBT Themes (114 books) – Goodreads – please note the possible noted here
The Complete List of 2018 YA Releases | Fictionist Magazine
YA Novels of 2018 (708 books) – Goodreads
YA Debuts 2018 (96 books) – Goodreads
Electric Eighteens | Electric 18s – 2018 Debut Young Adult
*with assistance from TLTer Heather Booth
Complete YA Collection Diversity Audit Series
Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: Understanding Your Local Community (Part 1)
Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: The How To (Part 2)
Doing a YA Collection Diversity Audit: Resources and Sources (Part 3)
Diversity Audit Outline 2017 with Sources
Filed under: Collection Development
About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 32 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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Thank you! This is wildly helpful. It is great you have done this, and I have read every post.
In your first post, you talked also about getting a sense of the ideological breakdown of your community as in progressive-conservative. What percentage is it in each, and how are serving that break down? Are you endeavoring to have as many progressive YA books as conservative ones, and vice-versa?
Yes, I think it is important to be as inclusive as possible. So I try to have a variety of books that represent all viewpoints. And because of the specific make up of our community, my library actually has a fairly large Amish collection, for example. I have worked at other libraries with large Chinese collections and large Spanish language collections. Because of the demographics of the local communities, these specific collections helped serve those populations.
I think we often also forget about the importance of naming Whiteness; in the context of book reviews and synopses that always state ethnicity/race when a character is a person of color, *not* naming Whiteness assumes that White=”normal”. This also applies to heteronormative thinking.
I have noticed in some book reviews lately that the reviewer has said, “the characters read as white” or “the characters are presumed to be white.” Thank you for this comment, it is definitely something else for us all to be thinking about.