Diversity Audit at BCPL: Reaching the Latinx Community

Spainsh

Castañeda, Lainy

2019-2020

Chinchilla, Laura (Mentor)

English

How is the latinx population represented at the public library? Where do we see latinx representation? In this presentation I will discuss the latinx components of a diversity audit I am conducting at the Boyle County Public Library. It is important to see what groups are being portrayed in the Young Adult collection so that the public can find what Karen Jensen states as “mirrors and windows”. “Mirrors” are books that people see themselves being represented in and “windows” are books where readers can learn about other cultures, ethnic groups, disabilities, etc. To analyze the collection, I go through the catalog book by book reading summaries, themes, and genres to categorize the book. Currently at a midway point in the work, I have found a few patterns when it comes to latinx representation in the collection that I will explore in detail in the presentation.