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Tribal Library Resources

Collection Development Resources

American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) (americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com) - Established in 2006 by Dr. Debbie Reese of Nambé Pueblo, American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. Dr. Jean Mendoza joined AICL as a co-editor in 2016.

CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries - Guidelines for culling outdated and materials no longer useful from library collections.

Cynthia Leitich Smith's Native Children's and Young Adult Books - These bibliographies and resources are drawn largely from articles and books published between 1995 and 2021. While award-winners and bestsellers are included, part of the goal is to feature underappreciated gems.

DPLA - Digital Public Library of America - Discover more than 40 million images, texts, videos and sounds from across the United States.

Diverse BookFinder | Identify & Explore Multicultural Picture Books - The Diverse BookFinder is a comprehensive collection of children's picture books featuring Black and Indigenous people and People of Color (BIPOC). We've cataloged and analyzed trade picture books fitting these criteria published since 2002. Recognized as a 2021 Best Digital Tool by the American Association of School Librarians and includes a free Collection Analysis Tool.

Elissa Washuta Booklist - This is an in-progress, reverse-chronological list of books by Native and Indigenous writers, a list compiled by a Cowlitz tribal member and writer.

Heartdrum, A Native-Focused Imprint - Heartdrum is an imprint of HarperChildren’s, centering Indigenous stories, authors, and illustrators for kids and teens! 

Indigenous Reads Rising - a celebration of Indigenous children’s literature of Native Nations, centering those within the United States and Canada.

Lee & Low Books - Native American and Indigenous books for ages pre-K through adult.

Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian - Includes searchable collections and educational research sources as well as online stores to purchase books and other materials.

Vi Hilbert ArchiveVoices of the First Peo­ple is a project cre­ated to honor the life and work of Vi Hilbert by mak­ing acces­si­ble audio and video record­ings that are part of the Vi Hilbert Col­lec­tion in the Uni­ver­sity of Wash­ing­ton Eth­no­mu­si­col­ogy Archives.

We Need Diverse Books - A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, WNDB aims to create a world where every reader can find themselves in the pages of a book. To reach this goal, we've created programs to mentor diverse writers and illustrators, support diverse publishing professionals, and provide books to classrooms nationwide.