Why Representation in Publishing Matters

Robin Bradford and I are working on a new version of our Actively Anti-Racist Service to Leisure Readers for a new venue (one all of you can access). That will debut in February 2025 and details about how to register will come out form the organizer soon. 

Visit our Actively Anti-Racist Service to Leisure Readers landing page for more details and pricing. And while you are there, please note there is no longer a version of our class via any NoveList platform (beginning 1/1/25). So if you have a subscription to Learn With NoveList and haven't completed our class, you need to get it done by 12/31. It will be gone after that. 

Specifically today however, Robin and I are meeting to work on a new facet to this training, an interactive piece that you can use in your work at your library over time. We are very excited to offer this in February in a beta version, but the plan is to workshop this print product and eventually turn it into a product anyone can buy.

As part of this process and each of us updating our presentations, I have been digging into more information that explains the WHY behind this work. Why is it important? Why should we all do it? Why including more voices is imperative to create a sense of belonging in our libraries? And most importantly working on helping each of you find your own why.

As the political climate shifts, we need to spend a lot more time focusing on the less inflammatory examples of WHY diversity matters. It has always been the focus of how Robin and I teach our course, but right now, if we are going to be able to talk about representation and diversity at all, this has to be EVERYONE'S focus.

To that end, I was encouraged to see the most recent issue of PW focusing on this very topic. First with this great article compiling interviews with publishing industry leaders all about why representation in publishing matters. 

And second, it has been 10 years since the founding of We Need Diverse Books (wow, it doesn't feel that long ago). To celebrate, PW met up with the founders to mark their 10 years, discuss current challenges, and look into the future with this great article.

Both of these pieces really dive into why diversity and representation matter always, but especially right now. Robin and I will add our voice to this discussion as it pertains to collection development and readers' advisory in the coming months as well.

I wish we didn't have to keep teaching this class. But we do. And since we have to, we are committed to making it as useful as possible for you, despite the state you live in or the administrational support you have. That is our promise to all of you. No matter where you reside, we have something to help you prioritize belonging at your libraries through representation.

Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.