One Staff Member, One Budget, One Community: How Rural Libraries Really Build Diverse Collections

America is its diversity, no matter what executive orders or policies may be passed by federal and state legislators with an agenda. That array of experiences, identities, and perspectives is reflected in libraries nationwide. But how do small and rural libraries build collections that reflect the whole of their community and the broader world around them? This piece from the Association for Rural & Small Libraries explains the power and mission of even the smallest and most remote libraries to manage collections that showcase their community’s–and the country’s–diversity.

One Staff Member, One Budget, One Community: How Rural Libraries Really Build Diverse Collections

by The Association for Rural & Small Libraries Staff and Members

Library censorship surged in 2025, with 4,235 titles challenged nationwide–the second-highest total in four decades. Ninety-two percent of challenges were driven by organized pressure groups and government officials rather than individual parents, 40% targeted works reflecting LGB...