As part of micro displays at the fireplace mantle for the month of May, the CSW Library is featuring books that explore sex and sexual health. Spanning topics in consent, disability and sex, asexuality, STIs, and menstruation, consider exploring some of these books that will help inform you and navigate questions.

Through these #OwnVoices selections, we invite you to celebrate and elevate people with disabilities, call for disability justice, and challenge ableism through reading. 

In response to systemic discrimination and negative views on disability and chronic illness, Disability Pride is a movement that seeks to celebrate people with disabilities for who they are, as they are—no exceptions. It's also important to remember that people have disabilities that are both seen and unseen.

On Display in front of the non-fiction stacks through the mod! Please consider picking up one of these stories and centering the voices and experiences of disabled protagonists.

Featuring folklore, magic, dystopias, and more — these science fiction and fantasy novels are perfect reads for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (celebrated annually in May) and beyond. Featuring dramatic retellings of traditional folklore to vast, complex, and technologically advanced new worlds, these authors celebrate and speculate all the while featuring resilient AAPI protagonists. On display in the magazine flats of the CSW Library through the month of May.

IN CELEBRATION OF JEWISH HERITAGE MONTH (MAY) 2022, explore these stories by Jewish authors featuring Jewish protagonists where Jewish identity is a central part of the story. The protagonists embody a wide range of experiences and emotions--from love and romance to heartache, parental loss, and community, these stories share the complex stories of Jewish people. On display in the magazine flats of the CSW Library through the month of May.

Did you know April is Autism Awareness Month? Consider picking up these texts by autistic authors which feature autistic protagonists exploring life, romance, power, and more.  On display on the library mantle through the month!

As part of the CSW Library's approach to collection development with a decolonial mindset, please consider exploring the displays we created in the following themes with Indigenous voices at the center: Reclaiming, Reciprocating, Resisting, Reimagining, Relating, and Revisioning. As part of DECOLONIZE.CSW.LIBRARY.ORG, a CSW Library Initiative. On display in the entire library for the first two weeks of April.

Consider picking up one of these books about athletes, moments in sports, and important races. From the roughest individual horse race to the first African American NHL player Willie O'Ree (who played for the Boston Bruins and recently had his number retired), Britney Griner's rise to fame in women's basketball, and even Glen Burke, the first gay MLB player, there's a bit of something here for everyone. Explore how sports--and athletes--explore topics in intersectionality, racism, LGBTQ+ issues, and resiliency and activism.

Celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility 2022 (March 31) with these stories by transgender authors featuring transgender protagonists in all their power, joy, triumphs, and trials.

During Women's History Month 2022, the CSW Library celebrates fiction that explicitly centers the stories and thereby the lives of women. These novels illuminate some aspect of the female condition and/or offer some kind of imperative for change. Some even make a bold or unapologetic political statement in the best interests of all women.

On display in the CSW Library magazine flats through the month of March.

In addition to celebrating feminist fiction, the CSW Library is also exploring how women use the power and priviledge they hold for healing–and in some cases, for division. Through a series of texts, essays, and writings, we consider history, context and the role women play in various communities to either uplift or disempower. 

Women have often been seen as the central force for mothering, caring, and healing. But like all things, women can use their power for the betterment of others or use it to continue a harmful narrative or history. As part of Women's History Month 2022, the CSW Library asks you to explore how women have used their position--sometimes powerful--to shape an idea, narrative, or solidify and uphold a community’s beliefs. Does that power aim to heal a people or disempower and harm others? How do women hold both the power to heal and the power to hurt? How are some women challenging the very notion of women as eternally mothering protectors? For women who harm, are they often overlooked as sometimes controversial figures who hold a very specific power?

As part of Black History Month 2022, we hope you will consider a deeper dive into a small moment in history that celebrates or deepens your understanding of Black contributions to a community. Our CSW Library Deeper Dive looks specifically at Black Wall Street, a 35-block area of Tulsa, Oklahoma--known as the Greenwood District--which brimmed with prosperity in the early 1920s. The Tulsa race massacre took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been deputized and given weapons by city officials, attacked Black residents and destroyed homes and businesses of the Greenwood District. 

As part of this deep dive display, we recognize that folks learn differently and like to engage with different media. We have four titles on this topic--one scholarly work by an AfAm professor and one award winning work of non fiction geared toward young people that's accessible but comprehensive. We also realize many engage more deeply with topics through works of fiction and are highlighting a historical novel in verse that follows two young people experiencing this catastrophic event. And of course, some like images with their words--consider exploring an excellent graphic non fiction work that engages its audience with this topic through detailed frames.

Explore the digital collection here. On display in the CSW Library magazine flats through the month of February.

During the month of February, we collectively celebrate the rich histories of African Americans and the African Diaspora. As part of this work, the CSW Library is sharing speculative fiction by Black authors. Speculative fiction is an umbrella term  that encompasses works in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements. Under this classification, it can include literary fiction with fantastical elements as well as hardcore science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Thes one important detail that sets it apart from classic sci fi and fantasy novels is this: the narratives are less concerned with the technology and science as with the human responses to new situations caused by the science or technology. Highlighting the human problem, and not the technological one, is the hallmark of this super genre.

In addition to this list, each week we will feature a work of fiction whose thematic elements inhabit the imagined fantasy in our Book of the Week series. Our hope is that you will explore one text under this theme during the month of February. Check out the digital collection here and remember to stop by the library to see the 

physical display.

Big blizzard? No problem. Snowed in makes for some of the best uninterrupted reading (minus shoveling, of course!). Consider getting even more in the mood with some of these reads--featuring arctic locations, deep chill, and snow snow snow, you'll really set a tone for the first major blizzard of 2022. If we can't have a snow day from school, at least we can have pleasure reading, right?

See the collection here and consider any one of these titles this weekend, and all winter.

Located on the library mantle--the CSW Library staff are featuring BIG BOOKS. Tomes that could anchor a ship--or er, are at least 500 pages. This rotation will feature both fiction and non fiction.

First up? Massive novels for those that like a book to take some time.

Novellas, essays, and super short reads--perfect for a mod break or in between reading for classes. Looking to kickstart your reading life in 2022? Consider a brief encounter--texts at 200ish and under pages meant to be enjoyed in one sitting. These titles feature a wide range of topics--from lived experience and identity, to politics, philosophy, imagined fantasy, and social justice. Don't see something that peaks your interest? Ask a librarian. We have tons more of these small texts to suggest. Check out the collection here--it features many more titles than are currently on display in the magazine flats.

Dr. Nyle Fort, CSW's MLK Jr. Day speaker, discussed the importance of reading and diving into the works of scholars that both discuss the African American experience, oppression, and freedom, but also the mythologizing of MLK Jr. we often do on and around this day. The CSW Library has compiled a list of Dr. Fort's suggested readings--both from titles he mentioned during his talk and ones endorsed on his social media--and incudes both fiction and non fiction. It also includes articles he's mentioned or written. A work in progress, this list will continue to grow, so check back often.

This display features protagonists who are looking to escape, flee a place, and get out of complicated situations and fates. For fans of page turners, thrillers, dystopia, and more, this display is currently up in the magazine flats for the month of December. Check out the digital collection here, too.

This collection features stories about what it means to be uprooted--forcefully removed from one's home, as in the case of the memoirs featured here. On display in the magazine flats, through December. Check out the digital collection here, too.

On display near the non-fiction stacks, this display features stories with harsh realities, rough edges, and protagonists with courage. Check out the digital collection here.

Transgender Awareness Week is a dedicated time, every November, when transgender people and their allies take action to bring attention to the community by educating the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community.

We hope these 12 books by trans activists, writers, artists and thinkers will ignite in you an interest in learning and understanding the vast, and often different, experiences of trans people, and to build an action plan for allyship.

This collection features fiction and non fiction from Indigenous writers about the impacts of living in a settler colonial state. These impacts include displacement, identity, citizenship, mental health and other traumas. Some are memoirs and some are short stories from multiple writers but all aim to express how colonization has profoundly shaped their experiences. Some offer bold statements on how to decolonize education or policies that shape Indian Country.

On display for the month of November, as part of Native Heritage Month 2021, in the magazine flats at the back of the library. Be sure to check out the digital collection here.

Storytelling is one of the foundations of Indigeneity. It is used to communicate creation stories, ancestral wisdoms, and to share the joy and resilience both needed, and experienced, as colonized peoples in what is now called the United States. Not only do these stories hold cultural significance and act as a point of survival, they can be vehicles for sharing topics and ideas important to Indigenous peoples.

As part of Native Heritage Month 2021, the CSW Library is highlighting the power that comes from the convergence of both words and images to tell a story. These Indigenous comic and graphic novelists span the entire North American continent; for Native peoples, borders between the United States and Canada are imaginary and refer to this place Turtle Island. The stories highlighted here explore themes of cultural heritage and preservation, isolation and belonging, and settler colonial impacts on tradition. And for one, the importance of Indigenous people seeing themselves reflected as heroes with power.

Check out the digital collection here. The display is currently up in the library in the back magazine flats. All of these titles are available for check out in the CSW Library.

LGBTQ+ folks have existed forever but historic oppression hasn’t always allowed queer people to live fully and authentically. This is also true of LGBTQ+ characters in published works through history and particularly within the historical fiction genre; often times, queer characters are left to the margins--cast in supporting roles (to entertain) or worse, treated as disposable (to meet an untimely end).

Shifts within the literary landscape have opened the door to joyful, positive queer historical fiction. As part of celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month, the CSW Library is featuring titles that prominently feature LGBTQ+ protagonists during specific time periods (and places!). These stories are paving new roads to allowing queer characters throughout history to live, struggle, and even thrive. Swing by the library’s magazine flats to explore the books on display this month and celebrate the joy that can exist in the pages of a good book. You can also check out the digital collection here.

LGBTQ+ History month is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson and is celebrated in the month of October.

Located in the CSW Library window, these non fiction books discuss not only trailblazers in the LGBTQ+ rights movement, but memoirs of lived experience at the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation.

Swing by the library to check out these titles in celebration of LGBTQ+ History month, which is an annual month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson and is celebrated in the month of October.

It's that time of year again where we break out our spell books, charge our crystals, and go on adventures to explore local cemeteries (that last one might just be me haha)! This display is all about magic, mystery, adventure,  and embracing the things that make you, you. Let's celebrate spooky season with a good book. 

This display is located at the back of the library against the non fiction stacks.

-Chloe Maya Funk '23, CSW Library Ambassador

Dear Reader, I grew up in libraries and bookstores and have been a voracious reader for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until I neared the end of middle school that I read a book featuring a female queer main character. This kind of representation was new for me, and it was so important for me to have had as I’ve grown into my identity as a queer person. Finding books with “women-loving-women” (non-binary or female-identifying individuals with an attraction to women) main characters and love interests has been integral to my journey of self-discovery, and I wanted to share my favorites of these books and graphic novels with the community in the hopes that they can help you feel less alone. These books and graphic novels feature women-loving-women of varying identities; non-binary, genderqueer, bisexual, lesbian, and more. It is so important for these stories to be visible and accessible to the lgbtqiap+ community and our allies. Our identities can’t be taken away from us. 

With love, Chloe Maya '23, CSW Library Ambassador

This display is located in the magazine flats at the back of the library.

Fire-breathing dragons, rising phoenixes, flesh eating zombies,  and other mythical creatures have long been staples of literature. But many of those fantastical inspirations and world building elements come from European folklore. As part of Latinx Heritage Month 2021, the CSW Library is featuring Latinx fiction writers of fantasy as they explore the magical and mythical through the lenses of their own Latinx cultures. These stories, at their heart, create a tapestry of themes that explore fear, families, tradition, and belonging in new worlds that, in many cases, mirror and reflect the realities of ours. Located in the library by the magazine flats, you can explore the digital collection here.

Located on the mantle above the library fireplace, this collection features non fiction stories and memoirs told through the graphic medium--with images and words. These stories feature personal explorations of navigating the world with a particular identity, key moments in history, dissenters, and artists. The CSW Library has a ton of non fiction in this medium, so do swing by the check out our entire collection. Explore here for more detailed information on the books featured in this space.