The American Library Association (ALA) Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) David Cohen/EMIERT Multicultural Award recognizes recent articles that include significant new research related to the understanding and promotion of multiculturalism in libraries in North America. Lisely Laboy, Dr. Rachael Elrod, Dr. Krista Aronson, and Brittany Kester have been named recipients of the 2024 award for their article entitled, “Room for Improvement: Picture Books Featuring BIPOC Characters, 2015-2020.” The article was published in 2023 in Publishing Research Quarterly. The article uses data from the Diverse BookFinder to highlight trends in representation of different racial and ethnic groups in picture books and raises concerns about the potential impact on cultural awareness and understanding. It advocates for a more thoughtful and inclusive approach to cultural representation in children’s literature and urges the publishing industry to address specific gaps to provide a more diverse range of stories.
The official announcement can be found here: https://www.ala.org/news/2024/05/recipients-named-emiert-awards
