Surviving, Multiculturally, in Hard Times

Abstract

While demographic changes point to the need for more multicultural children's books, the recent recession threatens to destroy the progress that has been made in this area. The threat comes from three sources-the decline in school and library purchasing power. the loss of library professionals trained to evaluate and to select multicultural books, and the contraction of mainstream presses. The example of the early 1980's, when a recession and cutbacks in Federal programs sharply reduced the number and variety of multicultural titles, does not bode well for multicultural publishing today; however, demographic changes, the whole language movement, and the existence of mandated multicultural curricula present a more hopeful picture, as does the emergence of alternative presses. Because of the long lead time required in publishing books, the consequences of the recession are likely to endure through the middle of the 1990's. and librarians must be proactive in ensuring the continued supply of multicultural books for children and young adults.