21st Century School Library Project
Help schools find the books students need today—and help shape the books they will need tomorrow.
The School Data Leadership Association is developing a practical, research-informed resource to help schools build new library collections and refresh existing ones. Our goal is to connect excellent literature, diverse student needs, and realistic purchasing options in one carefully curated resource.
A stronger collection. A clearer path to building it.
Choosing thousands of books means balancing reading interests, developmental needs, languages, cultural perspectives, instructional opportunities, and cost. The project will bring those decisions together so librarians and school leaders can move from recommendations to a collection they can actually acquire.
A searchable, curated title database
A maintained collection-development resource with clear selection rationales and practical access information.
- Search by grade range, reading difficulty, language, genre, subject, and format.
- Explore cultural representation, instructional connections, and social-emotional themes.
- Find teacher guides, translations, and public-domain or openly licensed versions where available.
- Review purchasing options and when availability was last checked.
An actionable “Missing Titles” agenda
A living set of documented collection gaps, paired with a playbook to help prioritize needs and encourage new or overlooked books.
- Identify underserved combinations of audience, reading level, genre, language, and representation.
- Describe the reading experience and educational opportunities a book could offer.
- Record the closest existing titles and the evidence behind each proposed gap.
- Invite authors, illustrators, publishers, and communities to help address those needs.
What makes a collection useful?
We will develop transparent selection criteria that consider both the strengths of individual books and the needs served by the collection as a whole.
Quality, range, and student interest
Enduring school classics, excellent contemporary literature, award-winning works, and compelling discoveries across fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic formats, and more.
Readers with different needs
Books for developing, on-level, and advanced readers; high-interest titles with accessible text; and meaningful cultural, linguistic, and identity representation.
Connections to teaching and learning
Useful teacher resources and thoughtful connections to academic skills and themes such as belonging, empathy, and personal perseverance, while keeping engaging reading central.
Practical access
Current purchasing information, useful language and format alternatives, and legally available free editions. A recommended collection should come with realistic ways to obtain it.
How the work will unfold
Initial source lists have already been gathered. The next steps will turn those starting materials into a shared, reviewable collection resource.
Gather trusted book lists
Collect existing recommendations from departments of education, library and literacy associations, publishers, and other sources, preserving each list’s origin.
Build the candidate database
Bring records into a common structure while retaining source appearances and duplicates so we can see where recommendations overlap.
Evaluate and refine
Develop weighted review criteria, verify availability, and consolidate duplicate records using ISBN-13 and title review, while keeping useful versions connected.
Document gaps and invite responses
Use expert review and AI-assisted analysis to investigate missing coverage, then develop prioritized briefs and a practical development playbook.
What could a “Missing Title” look like?
A gap may involve a particular combination of reading experience, representation, accessibility, and instructional purpose.
An illustrated fantasy adventure for fourth-grade readers
Imagine an accessible novel featuring a Filipina non-binary protagonist whose adventure explores personal perseverance, friendship, and agency. The story could also offer opportunities to practice inference, explore theme, and support interpretations with details from the text.
The research question: Which existing or forthcoming books meet this combination of needs, and what remains underserved?
This is an example of a proposed gap, not a claim that no such book exists. Finding an overlooked title is a valuable outcome. Confirmed needs could become creative briefs for authors and publishers, with human review of the evidence and community perspectives.
From curated titles to tailored library packages
Over time, the database could help schools assemble book packages based on their budget, students’ needs, and existing holdings—from a targeted collection refresh to a new school library. Purchasing support could organize selections across vendors and publishers.
As new books are discovered or published, the project could track which documented gaps have been addressed and bring those titles into the review process. The aim is a living resource that continues to improve with the literature and the communities it serves.
Bring your expertise, your book lists, and your questions.
We welcome school librarians, teachers, library-science faculty and graduate students, literacy specialists, school leaders, authors, illustrators, publishers, and others interested in stronger school library collections.
Contribute to the research
- Recommend existing curated lists or overlooked titles.
- Help develop selection criteria and review candidate books.
- Verify book information, teacher resources, and purchasing options.
Help identify and address needs
- Share collection challenges and priorities from your school or community.
- Review proposed gaps and suggest existing or forthcoming books.
- Explore research collaboration, outreach, or new-title development.
Tell us a little about your role, your interests, and how you might like to contribute. A useful source list, a focused review, or a thoughtful question is a welcome place to start.