Reason
Stories are an inseparable part of our lives. We grow up on
stories, we tell stories, and we see our own lives as our own stories in the
making. Stories can be used to teach a lesson, share a memory, express a dream,
or simply make sense of the world in which we live. Stories for youth, in
particular, help youth – and all of us – to learn about our world and to
understand ourselves. Youth literature has always been a powerful tool for
teaching about diversity, understanding, and self-discovery.
In recent years there has been an amazing growth of youth
literature that reflects the diversity of families, genders, sexual
orientations, and love in our world. These books serve as unique, fantastic,
and sometimes lifesaving resources for children, young adults, families, and
friends who crave and deserve appropriate literature on LGBT (Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) and LGBT-related topics.
Unfortunately, these books are too often difficult to find.
Sometimes they are lost, hidden, forgotten, ignored, banned, or simply hard to
discover. Many libraries and bookstores lack appropriate systems for cataloging
and organizing these books. Many individuals and organizations fear or oppose
making use of these wonderful bodies of literature that strive to better
reflect the true diversity and beauty of our world. Those who wish or need to
find these books sometimes cannot, or sometimes do not even know that they
exist.
Mission
The LGBT Youth Literature Project seeks to share, promote,
and advocate for LGBT and LGBT-related youth literature for children, young
adults, families, educators and friends. We aim to raise awareness, knowledge,
access, and usage of this growing body of literature for all young readers, and
for all who may be interested or may benefit from it, which is to say, in our
view, all readers everywhere.
Vision
We envision a world where diverse genders, gender
expressions, families, and sexual orientations are considered equal and valid.
We envision a world where children grow up knowing about
different genders, gender expressions, families and sexual orientations, and
understanding them as a natural and beautiful part of our world and of their
own world.
We envision a world in which library, school, and home
shelves are filled with books that represent the true diversity of individuals,
families, relationships, and love in our world.
Goals
Sharing:
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To make available and accessible:
knowledge and information about existing and forthcoming youth literature on
LGBT and LGBT-related topics.
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To create an accessible online
database for all individuals, organizations, youth, families, educators,
libraries and schools interested in expanding their collection or knowledge of
LGBT and LGBT-related youth literature.
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To provide resources for
individuals and organizations who would like to better utilize, teach, or learn
about LGBT and LGBT-related youth literature.
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To create a community and forum
for sharing and learning about LGBT and LGBT-related youth literature.
Advocacy:
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To increase the availability, accessibility,
and visibility of LGBT and LGBT-related youth literature in homes, schools,
libraries, and on the web, across languages and cultural venues.
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To create and advocate for improved
systems for cataloging, organizing, searching, finding, displaying, and
sharing LGBT and LGBT-related youth literature.
