IDEA Team - Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Advocates

A Team of Diverse Employees Paving the Way for DEI at Mid-Columbia Libraries

The IDEA Team is a diverse group of employees committed to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion at Mid-Columbia Libraries. All staff are invited to take part in supporting the IDEA Team make our region a more inclusive place for everyone. Below you will find a variety of lists and books shared by our IDEA Team to start or support your own DEI journey.

Cryptids and Creatures

Ghosts, yetis, aliens, and unicorns are all the creatures and cryptids featured weekly for Mid-Columbia Libraries in June as part of the Summer Reading Challenge! Explore these creature tales through new lenses or revisit an old favorite.

We Are All Family

What does family mean to you? What does family look like? The following list offers different snapshots of families, and while they are geared towards children, these are books everyone can enjoy.

Celebrating Neurodiversity: Stories That Empower

Expand your understanding of neurodiversity with our curated book list! Discover insightful reads that explore different neurodivergent experiences, from autism and ADHD to dyslexia and more. Learn valuable strategies, gain fresh perspectives, and find stories that resonate with your own journey.

Books From Your Own Backyard

From the heart of the Tri-Cities to the edges of the state, here are some of our favorite local authors! They write everything from picture books to histories of the area. There is something for everyone no matter your age on this list. Hopefully you’ll find a new favorite!

A local author with a wide variety of diverse fantasy and paranormal romances!

This Tri-Cities teen wrote this (and the sequels) while in high school!

Mid-Columbia Libraries' Kennewick branch manager wrote this sci-fi book!

A Tri-Cities native, this series travels all over the area and mentions familiar landmarks.

Diverse Cuisine

Who doesn’t love food? It is one of the constant elements across civilizations and time periods that always brings people together. These cookbooks are some of our favorites. From old classics to new ideas, hopefully you find something here to delight your senses and explore in your kitchen. Take your taste buds on a trip around the world.

Never found a recipe in here that wasn’t delicious or that took longer than an hour. Very impressed!

An Asian cuisine adventure, detailing recipes that changed the modern culinary landscape.

A delightful mix of midwestern cuisine influenced by her Jewish and Chinese heritage, this book is full of good food and lots of smiles. Maybe a few sprinkles, too.

This colorful vegetarian cookbook fuses Indian and Californian cuisines and brings them to your kitchen.

We Are Made of Stories

At Mid-Columbia Libraries we are committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Stepping into someone's story helps us see the world through a new lens. These titles are from a wide variety of authors that offer new views on the world or new things to think about, and help us reach that goal.

I'm With the Banned

These are our favorite books have been challenged or banned for various reasons. Freedom to choose what you read is a precious thing to libraries and we encourage you to give these books a chance.

Restricted in at least one school district as only ‘suitable for older readers’, despite it being read at the presidential inauguration.

Banned or challenged across the country, with one of the top complaints being it deals with domestic abuse.

Banned and challenged for violence, profanity, and promoting anti-police messaging.

Found in one school district, parents complained about the vulgar and graphic content.

Not Gonna Hide My Pride

This list consists mostly of pictures books that explore Pride and LGBTQIA2S+ community. Visit the parades, learn the history, and more as you go through these colorful reads.

This book is a Stonewall Book Award winner, and has wonderful Easter eggs throughout the book. At the end there is an explanation for some Easter eggs. We love a book that is entertaining and informative.

Some of the most beautiful art, capturing the spirit of Pride events.

Pride, puppies, and ABCs?! This book has it all, with adorable and colorful art that is sure to grab everyone’s attention. Each page has different things that relate to the letter of the page. See if you can find them all when you’re reading!

A beautiful book about different types of families, told from the playful view point of a child who is loving life. Queer parents, divorced parents, siblings raising siblings and more are all highlighted in this book.