The Importance of Multicultural Diversity in Library Collections and Means with Which to Analyze Diversity in

Collections
Abstract: The importance of multicultural diversity in libraries is now clearly acknowledged, though focus has been on
diversifying staff. It is also essential to diversify collections in libraries as they are a source of information throughout
people’s lives. Children’s views of the world around them are shaped by the stories they are exposed to. Therefore,
exposing them to diverse materials early on is important regardless of the child’s own culture. In all cases, diversity must
go beyond simply the presence of characters from multiple races. Works must also be assessed to ensure they do not
minimize their multicultural characters into simple stereotypes. It is important to maintain diverse collections in all types
of libraries. In order to do this, collections must be sourced from places beyond simply mainstream lists and the most
prestigious literary awards. Analyzing the diversity of libraries’ existing collections is also essential though it may be
challenging at larger institutions. Comparing one’s collection to those of other institutions or checking holdings against
existing or created lists of diverse works are options. It is also possible to assess a large collection by breaking down the
work and analyzing commonly accessed parts of the collection. These forms of assessment can help a library locate
areas where the collection is lacking or even bring to light diverse materials that already exist in the collection but are
not being circulated and therefore should be highlighted to patrons.
Bickmore, S. T., Xu, Y., & Sheridan, M. I. (2017), Where are the people of Color? Representation of cultural diversity in
the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and advocating for diverse books in a non-post racial
society. Taboo: The Journal of Culture & Education, 16(1), 39-54. https://doi-
org.dom.idm.oclc.org/10.31390/taboo.16.1.06
Bickmore et al. examine the authors and protagonists of 100 works nominated for and awarded National Book
Award from 1996 to 2015, noting the race/ethnicity of each among other factors. They find that only about half
of the works contain multicultural protagonists and then go on to assess that only about half of those are
“culturally relevant texts” or those telling own voices stories. They conclude by recommending collections not
focus on obtaining books from lists of mainstream award honorees, suggesting some awards that focus on
diverse books as alternative suggestions for collection development.
Kristick, L. (2020). Diversity literary awards: A tool for assessing an academic library’s collection. Collection Management,
45(2), 151–161. https://doi-org.dom.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/01462679.2019.1675209
Kristick creates a bibliography of diverse sources and then uses it to assess the collection at her home
institution. The bibliography of 2,408 titles is created from honorees from various diversity focused awards as
well as lists of suggested works for topics that do not have dedicated awards. She finds that many gaps in the
analyzed collection are due to logistics such as book vendors focusing on mainstream and academic publishers.
Mortensen, A. (2019). Measuring diversity in the collection. Library Journal, 144(4), 28–30.
Mortensen discusses the results of the LJ 2019 Public Library Diverse Materials Survey, which indicate that many
libraries have not measured the diversity of their collections due to perceived difficulty due to the size of their
collections. She then describes how her institution assessed the diversity of their collection by focusing on
materials used in popular programs. Once they found the gaps in materials being used, they focused on utilizing
diverse materials regularly. The assessment was then repeated the following year and showed that diversity of
materials improved. Mortensen highlights the importance of all library staff taking part in making sure diverse
materials are circulated in the public library setting.
Naidoo, J. C. (2014). The importance of diversity in library programs and material collections for children. Association for
Library Service to Children, American Library Association.
Naidoo’s white paper written for the ALA discusses why diverse materials are important to children’s collections.
He discusses how children form their world views based on the stories they consume, making it important that
they be exposed to diverse works that go beyond simply featuring multicultural character. Diverse works must
depict other cultures realistically and positively, rather than focusing on stereotypes. He also discusses the
importance of diversity in library programs and provides examples of some successful programs, which while
less relevant to this paper, makes this a useful source for institutions looking to diversify their children’s
offerings.