By Gianna Macchia
The #OwnVoices hashtag was created by writer Corinne Duyvis in 2015 as a way to shorthand book recommendations by authors who openly shared the diverse identity of their main characters. She used the tag with her own novel On the Edge of Gone, which features an autistic protagonist, an identity that she herself shares. However, the tag quickly turned into a blanketed marketing term which placed diverse creators in uncomfortable and unsafe situations. In an interview, Duyvis stated, “Regretfully, the hashtag is regularly weaponized against marginalized authors. I’ve seen this happen along pretty much every imaginable axis of marginalization, and I absolutely hate that a hashtag that’s supposed to uplift marginalized authors is being used to police and pressure them.”
In June of 2021, We Need Diverse Books posted a piece explaining why we would no longer be using the hashtag #OwnVoices. Instead, we are committed to moving towards focusing on the specific descriptions authors use for themselves and their characters, and not on forced representation. To better understand how this pivot is affecting the publicizing and sharing of books, I interviewed four librarians about their shift from using #OwnVoices.
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Gabby Womack M.S., M.A (She/Her) is a librarian at the McQuade Library of Merrimack College located in North Andover, Massachusetts. She is also a dedicated historian, and archivist who is passionate about anti-racism and sharing the stories of minoritized folx. Gabby is currently reading Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa, The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty, and Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. Find Gabby at @Bookish_AfroLatina (IG & TikTok) @BookishAfroLatina (FB) or on her website bookishafrolatina.com
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Based on WNDB’s shift, what are you using now in place of the #OwnVoices hashtag when you want to share or promote diverse content?
When I want to share or promote diverse content I usually look into the representation within the book and the author’s identity (if they’ve defined it). Some of the hashtags I use to indicate that are: #DiverseBooks #BlackAuthor (or other variations, depending on race or ethnicity) #Lgbtq (and/or more specific like #gay or #sapphic) #disabled #ChronicPain or #ChronicIllness #DecolonizeYourBookshelf
What is your current system for making sure diverse books are easily accessible at your library?
Currently, our library has a much smaller budget than usual due to COVID so we have refocused our new book purchases into e-books through Libby/OverDrive. I create monthly virtual displays based around themes like Latinx Heritage Month, LGBTQ+ History Month, etc. I make sure that these displays are visible at the top of the page and include a corresponding libguide with even more resources.
Have you created any display/tool/or event at your library that you are particularly proud of? Please explain.
Yes! I’m proud of all of my virtual displays/guides but I’m especially proud of my Anti-racism Resources guide. I created this guide last June and it was a huge undertaking. After the faculty expressed a need for a central place with resources in their fields on anti-racism, I created the layout based on their request and set to work with a few fellow librarians. This guide also provides historical context, support resources for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and information on whiteness/white privilege. Each section holds videos, book lists, articles, and websites on how racism affects the fields of study and what methods folx are using to combat that. This is a living guide, meaning it is meant to be continually updated as more information becomes available or concepts shift.
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Suzanne Acharya (she/her) is a librarian at the Burlington Public Library in Ontario, but is currently preparing for an international move to Auckland, New Zealand. Suzanne is all about finding a community need and filling it. She loves bringing organizations together under the belief that group efficacy always has a greater impact than what a single person could achieve alone. Suzanne believes that equity, diversity and inclusion starts with her so she is constantly expanding her reading to better understand the lived experience of voices she has not heard. Suzanne told me “I can bring the change in every action I do when I understand.” She is currently reading Monster in the Middle by Tiphanie Yanique. Find Suzanne and more book recommendations by following @librarian.suzanne on Instagram.
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Based on WNDB’s shift, what are you using now in place of the #OwnVoices hashtag when you want to share or promote diverse content?
I am specific when I use hashtags on Instagram. I want to hear voices that have been underrepresented in libraries and bookstores, so whether it’s a memoir, a novel or a children’s book, the author who penned it is perhaps more important to me than the topic. A story about what happened last night is completely different when told by a Black voice, an Asian voice, or an Indigenous voice, etc., so I am specific with my tags. I use #BlackAuthors or #SharingIndigenousStories along with the author tags and content-specific tags like #MedicalRacism. Trust me, I’ve done my research before I’ve tagged anything, so if it says #BlackAuthors, it really is a Black author.
What is your current system for making sure diverse books are easily accessible at your library?
I have found that going up against a system as a whole is often fruitless and wastes a lot of energy. I have taken a quieter approach of requesting titles from my content department in areas I find lacking, sending messages to cataloguing when I uncover blatant racism or glaring blindspots in the subject headings, or mentioning things to my colleagues like, “Have you ever noticed that EVERY SINGLE ONE of our romance covers features white people only?” When they have that “ah-ha” moment, they pass it on to others, and the next thing I know, when I walk into the library, I see diversity popping up in all our library displays.
Have you created any display/tool/or event at your library that you are particularly proud of? Please explain.
The accomplishment I am most proud of to date is telling my manager how he could help create a safer working environment for me by empowering other staff members to disrupt racist behaviour at work. He personally spoke to each staff member at my branch and told them how to stand behind me if I needed backup, stand beside me if I needed support, and stand in front of me if I needed interference. Within a 48-hour period, people began to notice racism coming from patrons and other staff members, and started to come alongside me to disrupt this behaviour. They felt empowered not only to disrupt racist behaviour, but any kind of abusive behaviour, including sexism and misogyny. What’s interesting is how that spilled into our library displays. Once their eyes were open to the amount of extra barriers I face just to do the same job they do, this made them notice other inequities in our displays, in our programming, and in our hiring practices. Even though I’ve left this library, those changes will live on.
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Madison Maler (she/her) is a librarian at the Palm Desert Public Library in Palm Desert California. She has a masters in Library and Information Science and runs a bookstagram account (@anxious.librarian) where she posts reviews and photos often with a focus on LGBTQIA+ fiction and mental health. Madison is currently reading Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger.
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Based on WNDB’s shift, what are you using now in place of the #OwnVoices hashtag when you want to share or promote diverse content?
It’s a shift we’re still going through where I work. Some are having a hard time switching from what they see as a useful “catch-all” term to a different form of marketing, while others still believe we should use the hashtag but be more careful with its use. It has been a useful tool for promoting new authors and unexpectedly useful in cataloging these stories in an easy to access way for both librarians and patrons, but the way the hashtag is being used is now preventing some stories from reaching the people who need them and the language is shifting from helpful to harmful. We are exploring new alternatives. At the moment, this involves dropping the OwnVoices part of the hashtag, leaving us with things like #LatinxAuthor or #MuslimRep. Alternatives like #TrueStory or #DiverseReads are also used when appropriate. I wish I had a better answer but there really isn’t one. Not yet, in any case. Right now it feels a lot like stumbling around in the dark flipping switches until you find something that works.
What is your current system for making sure diverse books are easily accessible at your library?
We do a lot of displays and send out weekly book recommendations in our newsletter! Sometimes these correlate to the month, like Mental Health Awareness Month, otherwise it sort of varies.
When finding meaningful stories to promote that would usually fall in or around the OwnVoices label I’ve been doing a lot more research, reading reviews by persons with similar experiences to the characters’ in addition to learning how the authors identify. This is in an effort to highlight books where an author may not publicly identify a certain way for their own safety. A book’s representation can still be good and meaningful if done with care, and listening to these reviewers can give us a good idea of where to look.
Have you created any display/tool/or event at your library that you are particularly proud of? Please explain.
Inspired by WNDB and DiverseBookClub.com I started a Diverse Book Club earlier this year! At first I did market it using the OwnVoices hashtag, but after learning about how it was being misused I altered the book club to focus on diverse stories and experiences as well as underrepresented voices. Some of our books have included The Black Flamingo and The Complete Persepolis. Our last book of the year will be They Called Us Enemy by George Takei.
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Laura Escamilla (She/Her/Hers) is a Mexican-American born and raised in Florida. She currently works as a librarian in New Port Richey. Laura received her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of South Florida. Aside from reading, her next favorite activity is visiting her parents’ hometown in Guanajuato, Mexico. Laura’s parents have taken their family to visit the country at least once a year and to ensure that their traditions and culture are kept alive. She is currently reading Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee. See what Laura is up to by following her @TheBilingualLibrarian on Instagram and TikTok.
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Based on WNDB’s shift, what are you using now in place of the #OwnVoices hashtag when you want to share or promote diverse content?
In place of the #OwnVoices hashtag I have been using #RepresentationMatters, #diversity, or I try to tag whichever group or groups are being represented with my post such as #hispanic or #lgbtqia. I also make sure that I use specific descriptions that are used by the authors to describe themselves or their characters.
What is your current system for making sure diverse books are easily accessible at your library?
I am lucky to work for a library system that strongly supports the accessibility of all materials for the community. While I do not work for acquisitions, all staff members and even patrons have the ability to submit purchase suggestions to the acquisition team. The team has done an AMAZING job of ensuring that our collection remains diverse and that we have books available for everyone, no matter their background or age.
I love to create library displays that are all-inclusive. My library branch has a very diverse collection so it is easy for me to create displays that include both authors and characters with diverse backgrounds. When I create my displays I try to make sure to have enough materials available so that all members of the community can see themselves represented. Aside from my love of reading diverse books, I try to read them more often than not so that I am prepared to share these titles with my patrons.
Have you created any display/tool/or event at your library that you are particularly proud of? Please explain.
The library event that I am most proud of to date is my Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) program that I held for all ages. I started off the event by explaining the meaning of Día de Los Muertos to all attendees and allowing time for questions. I then had various stations available with crafts and activities for families or individuals to complete. The first station was dedicated to decorating sugar skull cookies (this was pre-pandemic). The second station had coloring sheets for all ages. The third station was dedicated to creating mini ofrendas. Library patrons were encouraged to bring in photos of their loved ones and then they would place them in a heart shaped tin and decorate the tin with whichever items they desired. And our fourth station consisted of face painting. One of our talented staff members painted calaveras, roses and other designs on our patrons! I also made sure to have a display of books available for all ages. The library program was a success with over 90 attendees, and several shared their stories about their loved ones with me. A few even mentioned that they felt drawn to the program and looked forward to learning more about Hispanic culture.
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Gianna Macchia is a Milwaukee-based educator and high school literacy coach. She believes reading cultivates empathy, and the more educators can encourage students to read, write, think, and discuss outside of their own perspective, the more they can contribute to building a more accepting, socially aware world. She thinks we should never doubt the power of representation and visibility, especially for adolescent youth. When Gianna isn’t engrossed in YA books, she and her wife enjoy traveling, live music, hiking, cooking, and snuggling their pets Gatsby, Atticus, and Huckleberry, the literary brothers from different mothers.
