Feeling comfortable wandering around in my local library has been one of the perks of being well-vaccinated with coronavirus numbers going down. This week after two years of ordering ahead and picking up at the window, I was really pleased to go inside and see that Oak Grove Public Library is getting things right.
For a while I have been following writers, educators, and caring people who may not have a title as they reach out to make the book world a better reflection of our varied population. There are several groups that are on mission to have more children who are ethnically different and differently abled appearing in books. I particularly like the take that Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop made in 1990 on the importance of young readers having access to diverse books. She coined the phrase “Windows, Mirrors and Sliding Glass Doors” to explain that children need to see themselves in books and need to learn about the lives of others through literature. She explains that children who never see someone like themselves mirrored in a book feel devalued while books that are windows bring understanding as they allow children to look into lives that are different from their own.
The first prominent table as I began my stroll through the Oak Grove Library this week was the one devoted to Asian American and Pacific Islands Month, attractively laid out with stories and authors from those places. I had the thought that was a nice tribute, but pretty expected since the month has been widely promoted among book people. Making my way to the back, I passed what I call the Temptation Tables. These have books standing upright in an eye-catching arrangement almost calling out, “Take me home!” As I looked at these displays, I saw an ethnicity in the books that reflected the mosaic that is America. Now, you might wonder if this kind of promotion really works. I haven’t done a scientific study with statistics, but I can tell you that Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Slade and The First Blade of Sweetgrass: A Native American Story by Suzanne Greenlaw and Gabriel Frey joined the stack I was bringing home.
With news filled with wars and wrongs, it is good to find a place where something is going right. Could it be that clear vision from diverse books can bring empathy and change hate to understanding? I give thanks for my community library in Lamar County, Mississippi that is lighting the world of children, and even some adults, with its mirrors and windows.