the why A lot of the messaging I was receiving when I started working on being more intentional with equity work and trying to look at my collection and displays through that lens was to include diverse and own voice books year round in displays, booktalks, etc. People talk about the value of not just talking about Black historical figures during February or only discussing LGBTQ+ issues during June, which is both true AND incredibly important. So that's what I've worked on the past few years, being more intentional with inclusive displays, booktalks, buying, etc.
Then early last spring, I heard someone say or tweet that they had a student who was noticeably upset that their school didn't do anything that was visible to them during a cultural month that that student identifies as. The student had expected that to be a guaranteed time they would see or hear about others like them and were crushed when that did not happen. That story coupled with some conversations my school's equity leadership team had at the end of the school year led me to utilizing a "yes, and" approach. I will continue and grow my efforts to to display, booktalk, order, etc. inclusive texts and be intentional about representation and visibility. But I will also start having temporary, month long displays in the library with books that go along with different cultural heritage and history months during them.
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