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Cedar Crest Curates a Diverse Book Collection 

The #WeRead360 Project is a collection of diverse children’s and young adult literature, initially sponsored by the 51���� Diversity and Inclusion Council-IDEA Grant. The project is a collaboration between the Education Department and Cressman Library.

#WeRead360 is open to the campus community and features a range of fiction from picture books to young adult literature. The collection spotlights diverse and inclusive narratives covering a variety of topics, including race, ethnicity, disability, identity, body image and sexual orientation.

The library also features a collection of books by the Education Department’s yearly visiting authors. Over the past two years, the Department has hosted several virtual author events with female authors who celebrate and honor diversity. Past authors include Vanessa Brantley-Newton, author of “Just Like Me” and “Grandma’s Purse,” and Lesa Cline- Ransome, author of the Finding Langston trilogy. This September, the Department will welcome Kelly Yang, author of the Front Desk series.

According to the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin- Madison School of Education, only about 23% of children’s books published in 2018 featured characters from diverse backgrounds. “We know that being exposed to literature that is representative of their own experiences and challenges has an inordinate impact on students, and we believe that access to a diversity of voices makes for a more tolerant, empathetic and caring world,” says Stefani Gomez, Ph.D., director of Cressman Library.

Education students utilize the collection throughout their course studies, in their lesson planning and in their classrooms while student teaching. “A truly diverse collection of books can turn our undergraduate and graduate education students and the students they teach into lifelong learners while promoting and developing empathy, understanding and self-confidence,” says Melissa Kamyab, Ed.D., assistant professor of education and director of graduate programs.

Since its inception last year, the collection has expanded from just 70 to over 2,000 books and is still growing thanks to donations from the Cedar Crest community. The Education Department and the Library plan to expand the collection on an ongoing basis and find new ways to support the project’s mission. “This is just the beginning. The future is expansive for our collection,” adds Kamyab.

Visit the #WeRead360 Collection in Curtis Hall 131 and Cressman Library. Visitors can check out and return books using just their phone and a QR code.

Upcoming Event
Visiting Author: Kelly Yang
September 21, 2022
7-8 p.m. on Zoom
More details to come!