The Importance of Diverse Literature Collections
By Chidiebere Sullivan Nwuguru
Literature is with no doubt a conveying medium through which readers travel and interact with the world and culture they have yet to set their feet on or experience physically. Oftentimes while reading, the books we consume instill in us a huge sense of belonging, take us on a journey with it, and sometimes, magnify the life we live in a very reflective way. By consuming a variety of literature, we deepen our knowledge of the world, strengthen our relationships with people outside our culture, and relate more to the global and trending discourse, which all round enhances our cognitive skills as readers.
As Africans, multicultural literature collections are a great way to go about fostering the inclusion of every aspect of our society, promoting empathy and unity so that by journeying into the lives of others, we exert visibility on the world around us. For instance, through diverse literature, a country as multicultural as Nigeria can have its citizens from various backgrounds ruminate on the beauty of its diversity. By reading about others, we get to understand their way of life, and in that very moment, share in experiencing it with them, thus, promoting cross-cultural friendship. Also, when we read stories about us, our self-esteem and visibility experience a huge boost which ends up deepening our appreciation of human diversity while also letting us know that we are accepted and fully represented in the society we belong to.
Discussions built around a book are a very good way to propagate what we’ve consumed as readers, as they help us process and assimilate the message a book has. By so doing, it becomes easy to engage in global discussion through remote access to books from other parts of the globe. Also, by introducing a variety of genres, authors, and books, the horizon of our understanding of the world we live in is broadened. Hence, to be knowledgeable about various fields of life, a reader must be voracious in the way they consume a variety of books, genres, and authors. A diverse literature collection can help readers appreciate better the society they are born into, and the globe at large. People tend to develop more awareness about themselves, their culture, and even the way others live their lives through the consumption of books from various backgrounds, thus, giving them an avenue to understand better the global community. This way, histories are not just shared across generations of the same set of people but across the world at large.
Conclusively, creating diverse literature collections in schools, homes, and libraries, will help us build a community that incorporates and accommodates us all. It will further deepen our understanding of the world, boost our sense of belonging, and promote healthy multicultural relationships across races, cultures, ethnicities, and societies.
