OUT Maine, an organization that serves LGBTQ+ youth in Maine, recently donated books to Maine school libraries. Submitted photo
This past fall, OUT Maine Executive Director Jeanne Dooley had a flash of inspiration: What if school libraries had more inclusive books available to their students?
OUT Maine, an organization that serves LGBTQ+ youth, already had recommended reading lists for families and educators on its website. The key was to get these books into libraries, according to a news release from OUT Maine.
The Read the Rainbow campaign began. Over the next month, the organization secured individual donations to purchase the books. Applications from 59 school libraries across the state requested the curated, grade-level appropriate book sets, far exceeding the funds already raised.
In the last month, OUT Maine sent book sets to 43 school libraries in 15 of Maine’s 16 counties, thanks to the wave of support from donors. Each book set contains between 16 and 24 books and is free to the library.
“This gift from OUT Maine could not have come at a better time. These past two months, I had multiple middle-grade students ask for books with queer characters/storylines,” said Taylor Leach, the library media specialist at Vinalhaven School. “Between the resources provided on their website and the Read the Rainbow Program, OUT Maine has allowed me to provide what our students want and need and meet these requests from our students.”
These book sets increase visibility of LGBTQ+ people, celebrate diversity and foster supportive communities. Each set is based on age-appropriate reading levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12. The sets are a mix of fiction and nonfiction, including books that teach about important moments in LGBTQ+ history from the election of Harvey Milk to the Stonewall riots.
“We still have 79 requests for book sets waiting for funding to fill,” said OUT staffer Ingalil Vickerman. “These waiting list orders would cost $22,500 to distribute.” Once these requests are addressed, the organization plans to fundraise to distribute the books to interested Maine’s public libraries.
A $400 donation sends a full set of books for a grade level; donors of $400 can choose the grade-level sets they wish to support.
Those who want to help deliver LGBTQ+-inclusive books into school libraries can visit outmaine.org/read-the-rainbow.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
