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Metadata Community of Practice Member, Diverse BookFinder, (Remote)

Posted June 10, 2025

Description

The Diverse BookFinder is a comprehensive collection of children’s and young adult books featuring Black and Indigenous Peoples and People of Color (BIPOC). We’ve cataloged and analyzed picture books fitting this criteria since 2002 and have added early readers, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult novels published since 2022.

This fall, we will be building our fourth cohort of librarians, educators, and children’s literature experts who will receive training in the DBF’s coding techniques and code and share books featuring Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Are you invested in questions about who is being represented in children’s books featuring Black and Indigenous People and People of Color (BIPOC) and how they are represented? Are you a conscientious reader of picture books, early readers, middle grade, and young adult literature?   

If so, the Diverse BookFinder (DBF) Metadata Community of Practice may be for you!  

The Diverse BookFinder seeks applications for the 2025-2026 Metadata Community of Practice to code books for children and youth featuring BIPOC characters. The DBF is an online, searchable database designed to facilitate the discoverability and exploration of books for children and youth featuring BIPOC characters, so that all children can find themselves reflected and celebrated. 

We welcome applicants from all identities and backgrounds. We specifically seek candidates with an understanding of race, culture, gender, and power and a strong interest in applying this knowledge to analyses of BIPOC representation in children’s and young adult books. We envision a world overflowing with books by and about BIPOC, reflecting the diverse voices and experiences of BIPOC-identified people and communities.

Responsibilities

Members are expected to:

  • Commit to participating for 15 months: September 2025 to December 2026, with ten weeks of training sessions (both asynchronous and synchronous) from September through November 2025
  • Read, code, and discuss with team members the content of assigned books (25-30 books/year, 3-5 hours/week), using systems and processes established by the Diverse BookFinder from January to December 2026
  • Participate in regular discussions via Zoom to share and discuss findings as well as for ongoing support.

Members Will:

  • Contribute to furthering the discoverability of BIPOC children’s and young adult literature
  • Expand cultural competencies and increase knowledge of diverse books for young people;
  • Create a professional network of like-minded librarians, educators, and children’s literature experts invested in equitable collections and diverse programming

Hours and Compensation

This an uncompensated volunteer position.

How to Apply

Visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdW7T4odk3D9QL6aqzDt5zTinwOoE8XHEypZpE1Zgsl15bfbg/viewform to apply. Applications are due July 3, 2025 at 6PM eastern standard time.

Please contact Lisely Laboy at [email protected] with questions.

Temporary Volunteer Opportunities