UCLA

Despite the perceived innocence of children’s texts, scholars like Donnarae MacCann, Nancy Larrick, and Violet Harris have long documented the history of white supremacy and racism within them. Therefore, this dissertation undertakes a historical analysis of the activism of critical Chicana/o librarians and community organizations to advocate for anti-racism and social justice within children’s literature and library services. This study focuses on the time period from 1960 to 2000 to better understand the socio-political environment that led to new efforts within children’s literature and librarianship. This dissertation’s conceptual framing is informed by the fields of education, library/information science and ethnic studies and is guided by Critical Race Theories in education and Chicana Feminist Epistemologies. Drawing from oral histories with six Chicana/o librarians, personal documents and archival sources from eleven different collections across the nation, this study answers the following research questions: (1) What is the history of efforts by community-based organizations and librarians to challenge race and racism within in Latina/o representations in children’s literature and library services between 1960 and 2000? (2) What is the history of efforts by community-based organizations and librarians to support the creation of culturally relevant Latina/o children’s literature and library services between 1960 and 2000? (2a) What is the state of efforts to challenge and create accurate depictions of Latina/o representations in children’s literature and library services today?Findings from this study reveal that Chicana/o librarians, seldomly regarded as activists, have indeed transformed librarianship, library services, and literature for their communities. The Chicana/o librarians within this study, all shared how Civil Rights Movements shaped their consciousness of engaging libraries as spaces for connection and relationship building. At the core of their activism and efforts was the care and motivation to connect Communities of Color with libraries by recruiting diverse librarians to field and creating services and collections that reflected the needs of the local communities. The narratives of the Chicana/o librarians within this study highlight the importance of grounding of cultural affirmation within the training of future librarians and educators. In addition, while this dissertation brings to light new knowledge surrounding the activism of Chicana/o librarians, it further illustrates the cyclical patterns of racism, censorship, distortions, and stereotypes embedded within literature and librarianship that are present today. Findings from this dissertation reveal that censorship of materials in the 1980’s related to combating racism and sexism were usually grounded on claims of raising “anti-American children,” similar rhetoric is used today to justify the censorship of Critical Race Theory and Ethnic Studies curriculum across the nation.