In its third year, Bates’ Diverse BookFinder is more accessible than ever – News

In its third year, Bates’ Diverse BookFinder is more accessible than ever

As part of a team including Bates humanities librarian Christina Bell, noted childrenauthor-illustrator Anne Sibley O'Brien, and Brenna Callahan '15, Associate Professor of Psychology Krista Aronson has created the Picture Book Project: a set of interrelated resources that bring new accessibility to the world of diverse childrens books:A comprehensive collection of some 2,000 diverse books, housed at the Georgeand Helen Ladd Library, that is unique in that the books are available for anyoneto sign out; the Diverse BookFinder, a database and search language mirroring the collection, which for the first time makes diverse picture books findable by both the human characteristics and, importantly, narrative themes that recur in them; and an analytical tool, based on the DBF resources, that will enable librarians tounderstand how diversity is represented in their own childrens sections.

Between a powerful children’s book Search Tool and expanded outreach to libraries, parents and book professionals alike are increasingly making use of this unique Bates resource.