Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Date of Original Version

2023

Abstract

Understanding the changing landscape of LGBTQIA+ representation and its discoverability in popular collection development resources prepares curriculum materials librarians to develop inclusive collections and to support and advocate for the needs of preservice educators and the diverse audiences they serve. This paper maps how LGBTQIA+ representation in children’s picture books has evolved from 2008 to the present and to determine the scope of LGBTQIA+ visibility in professional book reviews. We did this by examining two subsamples from different four-year periods: 2008-2012 and 2018-2022. Our research found that recently published picture books with LGBTQIA+ representation have made substantial progress in depicting a wide range of gender identities and sexual orientations and introducing young readers to diverse stories about the LGBTQIA+ community. Additionally, the increased use of queer terminology in professional reviews has made LGBTQIA+ picture books more visible, although there are still limitations in representation in professional reviews. However, despite these positive findings, challenges still remain in the inadequate representation of some LGBTQIA+ identities

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

ACRL 2023 Conference Proceedings

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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