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Mastering the Basics 7 Being trustworthy helps you build relationships which then eases commu- nication, allowing you to help others. I once had a teacher confide in me that she was gay. At the time, if I repeated the fact to anyone, I could put her job at risk. Diversity The way we react and the words we choose, consciously or not, send impor­ tant messages as to whether we welcome all. Chapter 5 will explore that topic in more detail. A library’s collection also communicates a message, and in too many instances, it is not the message we think we are sending. In 1990, Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop coined the phrase “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors”3 to describe what a collection must include for it to be diverse. It took a while for the concept to be incorporated into our thinking, but it is now fundamental to how we seek to make our libraries welcoming for all. Diversity audits are an excellent tool for determining how well a collection reflects the goal of representing the multiplicity of people and relation- ships that make up our society. Yet, there can be missteps. Just having books that seem to have windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors doesn’t always address the need for diversity. Kayla Whayley explains how her fellow editor, Corinne Duyvis, created the hashtag #OwnVoices to address the importance of having books writ- ten by people who share the identity of their characters.4 This eliminates an often-unrecognized marginalization in our collections—because sometimes, what we think are windows and mirrors are reflecting only “otherness.” If diversity is represented in your collection only by the five “Fs”—food, fashion, festivals, folklore, and famous people—you are not showing everyday life. You are communicating that you see them as different. Your books with white characters have a far wider range of subjects. When you create displays that are not celebrating a specific month, such as Black History Month, but only feature white people, you are not welcoming all the members of your community or school. EDI—or Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion—is now a familiar term in edu- cation and in libraries. Whether it is truly embedded in daily practices varies widely, and numerous articles in journals discuss how often our