Earlier this year we received a grant from the Paul Post Fund (https://vermontcf.org/funds/paul-post-fund-for-libraries/). With this funding we were able to run a limited audit of our library collection with an eye toward books that represent a diversity of people and families. We then surveyed all students in grades 2 through 6, asking if they were able to find books in the library with characters with whom they could relate, and also asking what other aspects of characters they would like to see in our library offerings.

The final step of this project was to purchase 35 new books for the library. These books have characters, situations, and information that includes a variety of family structures, skin colors, body types and abilities as identified by our survey results as being important to our students. Thanks to the Paul Post Fund, we are one step closer to ensuring that our library books better represent the diversity of our students and their families, and also provide stories that represent people and families different from their own.