James Rosenzweig
Alicia Vaandering
Librarian
Welcome
Welcome to our guide for Rainbow Representation Rubric resources! The purpose of our research is to better understand representation of the LGBTQIA+ community in children's picture books and to create sources that librarians and educators can use to create more diverse and inclusive book collections.
This guide provides resources for analyzing and understanding LGBTQIA+ representation in children's picture books that were published between 2018 and 2020 in North America.
Rubrics
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The Rainbow Representation Rubric for LGBTQIA+ CategoriesThis rubric is designed for labeling picture books with one or more of nine categories that characterize the book's purpose, and its relationship to any LGBTQIA+ characters contained within. These categories are inspired by, and draw some descriptive language from, the nine categories developed for the Diverse Book Finder project at Bates College in Maine.
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The RRR Glossary for Gender Identity & Sexual OrientationThis glossary supplies terms and definitions for the identities and orientations associated with the LGBTQIA+ community, which were used in the development of the Rainbow Representation Rubric. It draws terms and definitions from three existing glossaries (all cited within this document).
Tools
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Rainbow Representation Rubric Audit Spreadsheet (Excel document)This Excel spreadsheet lists the 109 books in our revised sample, all of which appear in the Zotero list (and Glide app): follow the instructions in the spreadsheet to conduct your own simple audit of your recent picture book buying. The charts will auto-update as you delete the titles you're missing and leave the titles you own in place, and allow you to compare your holdings against the landscape of published picture books depicting LGBTQIA+ characters.
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Rainbow Representation Rubric Picture Books (Zotero)This Zotero list highlights books published 2018-2020 that include LGBTQIA+ representation. The list tags our categories, gender identities and sexual orientations, intersectionality in regard to race and disability, as well as relevant book awards and book lists.
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Rainbow Representation Rubric Picture Books (Glide app)This application can be used on your desktop, tablet, or phone to easily view and search children's picture books with LGBTQIA+ representation, published 2018-2020. You can use the QR code below to open the app.
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Installing the Rainbow Representation Rubric Picture Books appInterested in installing the Rainbow Representation Rubric Picture Books app on your phone for easy access? Check out this page for directions and a video tutorial.
Conference Presentations
As the Rainbow Representation Rubric and Glossary continue to be refined, our earlier presentations will increasingly give only a limited impression of the progress of our research as it currently stands. Those earlier presentations are supplied below, though, for the convenience of anyone who might have attended these conferences and wishes to revisit the presentation.
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Every Color of the Rainbow: Analyzing and Expanding LGBTQIA+ Representation in Children’s Picture Book CollectionsAn online presentation given at the Washington Library Association's annual conference in October, 2021.
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Who Do You See?: Representing Diverse Communities through Inclusive Children’s Book CollectionsAn online presentation given at the Rhode Island Library Association's annual conference in June, 2021.
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Who Do You See? Using Diversity Audits to Examine Representation in Children's Book CollectionsAn online presentation given at the Oregon Library Association's annual conference in April, 2021.