by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
University of Minnesota Duluth Education and Human Service Professions Librarian Kayleen Jones has been lauded as one of Library Journal's 2025 Movers & Shakers for her work collaborating with faculty, staff, and students to improve UMD's Children's Literature Collection. Jones' group emphasized books that better reflect the experiences of BIPOC students and provide positive representations for young readers. Previously, ARLD lauded Jones for this work with their 2024 Minnesota Academic Innovators Award.
Jones partnered with UMD Education faculty Suki Mozenter, Ariri Onchwari, and Insoon Han to make UMD's Antiracist Literary Advisory Board (A-LAB) a reality. As a result of the project, UMD's Children's Literature Collection more accurately reflects the wide array of voices and perspectives found in the UMD community. Jones' faculty partners recruited students for A-LAB. The group then went on to critically review 308 books in the Children's Literature Collection. The process allowed the students to identify and remove outdated or problematic titles and to add 53 higher-quality books.
The project's impacts extend beyond the collection itself. By actively involving students in collection management, Jones fostered a sense of ownership and trust. "This was a chance to really connect with students," she reflects. "To become somebody the students can trust and come to with questions." BIPOC students, in particular, played a crucial role in identifying the need for children's books that go beyond simple biography or stories that focus on oppression. A-LAB empowered them to suggest titles that reflect their own experiences and provide positive representations for young readers.
Jones deserves the credit she has received for the project's achievements, but she is quick to point out the importance of collaboration with university faculty library staff, and students. The student participants really stepped up in the collection review. After that phase was done, they led initiatives, like an indoor picnic and a lobby book display, to raise awareness of the improvements they made in the collection. "Having collaborators is really key," Jones says, "and one partnership often leads to more partnerships. That's great for the library."
Jones' collaborative approach offers a model for other libraries to follow as they strive to create more representative and welcoming collections for their patrons. Libraries can best meet the needs of their communities and empower future generations of readers by involving them in collection management. As for A-LAB, its work continues. Jones plans to continue her work with students and to forge new partnerships with faculty. "I want to involve students in ways that benefit them as well as the work of the library," she says. "That’s the dream."
More from Library Journal
Read the article about Kayleen Jones and review the entire cohort of Library Journal Movers & Shakers, including Northfield Public Library staff Natalie Draper and Angelica Linder, on the Library Journal website.
This article was initially published in October 2024 to report that the Academic & Research Libraries Division of the Minnesota Library Association had given Jones their Academic Innovators Award. It has been modified to reflect Jones' inclusion in Library Journal's 2025 Movers & Shakers.
