An exhibition of African American childrens literature stands at the forefront of the Education and Behavioral Science sector at Penn States Paterno Library.

For Black History Month, the conglomeration of literary works displays a spectrum of book titles from Sharon G. Flakes The Unstoppable Octobia May to Deborah Wiles Revolution.

Steven Herb, an education librarian at the EBS library, said the collection of books covers widespread topics, but largely focus on famous African Americans or common black experiences. Herb, who is also an affiliate of the United States Library of Congress and the director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, said the childrens books are also about kids who just happen to be black, kids who are set up in fictional domains where race is not the central topic of the stories.

Herb said a lot of the black child characters in the EBS collection have lives like plenty of other children. The librarian said the black children build snowmen and ride bikes just like many other young individuals.

Herb brought up the idea of books being sources for racial and cultural identification.

One of the philosophies we follow is that every child should find themselves in books. In addition, all kids should find others, Herb said.

The book collector said one of the things his staff spends time doing is making sure they have wide cultural representation present in their archives, regardless of the time of the year.

Were in better shape than we ever were in collecting black literature, Herb said.

Although the works focus on the circumstances of children of color, Herb said the exhibit is open to be read and observed by all. He said there are a number of books that serve as educational tools for researchers, human development and family studies majors, African American studies majors, student teachers, homeschooling populations, faculty, visiting children and others.

In regards to the point of having a black kids book collection in the midst of a primarily non-black collegiate populace, Herb said differentiating culture expands peoples horizons.

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Black children finding identity in media