The Children’s Library collection contains a great deal of excellent material, but because we collect widely, we also have many materials that are inaccurate or contain stereotypes. In order to help people use the collection, it has been divided up into several parts:
The Native American Research Collection is the collection that we recommend to visitors and researchers. It contains only books that were written, or endorsed by Native Peoples or Nations. These are the best books in the Children’s Library for accurate and authentic cultural and historical information about Native Peoples, because of their perspective, or who wrote them.
The Native American Historical Collection is the largest collection. It is composed of books, fiction and nonfiction, about Native Peoples of North America (including Canada and Hawaii) that were written for children. Most of the materials in the Native American Research Collection are also duplicated in this collection. The Native American Historical Collection contains many books with inaccurate, insensitive, or stereotypical text or illustrations. The purpose of this collection is to create a historical record of the changing attitudes about Native Peoples in children's literature.
The Education Collection contains materials for educators that address teaching about Native Peoples. This includes curriculum guides, lesson plans, and books and serials on multicultural education.
The Video, Kit, CD-ROM and Cassette Collections contain all of the multimedia materials. These materials vary widely in quality and authenticity and are not subdivided into Research and Historical classifications, as the book collections are.
The Reference Collection contains reference books about Native Americans, as well as general reference materials about a variety of topics.
