We Need Diverse eBooks Too, Y’know

Here is what in truth is just a query masquerading as a legitimate blog post.  I am never above misusing my power when I’m curious.  And while I’m sure somebody somewhere has brought this up, I certainly can’t recall it being as big a topic as it could be.

The other day I was talking with some folks about ebooks and the state of electronic publishing for kids today.  Now as you may or may not know, most library systems don’t have a lot of choices when it comes to purchasing e-materials.  At New York Public Library we were a large system so we could afford to buy ebooks from Overdrive, 3M, as well as stuff like Freegal.  Here at Evanston Public Library we just have Overdrive and Hoopla.

Now the thing about ebooks is that only a small selection of print materials come out in ebook form in any given season.  A colleague of mine recently decided that it would be a good idea to buy a bunch of diverse ebooks for their collection, so they tried to find as many as they could that were available for purchase.  The problem?  For as few diverse children’s books as we see each and every year, we see even fewer diverse ebooks.

So I put it to you: Is this a problem that is already being discussed and addressed, or is this something we should make a concerted effort to rectify?  Have studies been done on this already and I’m just late to the party?  I honestly don’t know so I put it to you.  If you have some knowledge to drop on me, drop it.

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