ROCKLAND — OUT Maine has received three grants to expand its annual “Read the Rainbow” book program, where funds are raised to send diverse book sets to Maine school and public libraries. The grants are being awarded by the Maine Humanities Council, the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust, and the Crewe Foundation.

Read the Rainbow is an initiative to enhance access to diverse, inclusive books and allyship resources for public and school libraries and youth-serving organizations, especially in rural areas across the state. This program addresses the underrepresentation of LGBTQ+ youth, racially and ethnically diverse families, and neurodiverse individuals in media, ensuring that all people see themselves positively reflected in literature and community spaces.

Since its inception, Read the Rainbow has distributed over 1,600 books to 80 Maine school libraries serving grades K-12 through individual donations. However, demand for the program has continued to grow, with requests for more than 4,000 books to date. This expansion will meet that demand by distributing thousands of additional expert-curated diverse books and Active Ally Toolkits, helping libraries and organizations create spaces that celebrate the diversity of all youth and families.

This expansion of the program will also enable the creation of collaborative learning cohorts for librarians and educators across the state, led by OUT Maine’s Youth Engagement Coordinator, Charlie Gluck. The cohorts will plan to meet on a monthly basis and provide a space for sharing curriculum and activity ideas, guided technical assistance, professional development, and more, ending in a certificate awarded to participants who complete the cohort program.

“Expanding Read the Rainbow is something that’s personally important to me, as a reader, a writer, and a queer person in Maine,” says Ellie Roy, Communications Coordinator at OUT Maine, who helps to curate the book sets each year and promotes the program. “With the help of these generous organizations, we’re going to be able to send books to more classrooms, libraries, offices, and other safe spaces so that youth and adults will always have access to diverse stories. In today’s political climate, we need to uplift diverse books more than ever.”

Individuals can request book sets or donate to the Read the Rainbow book fund by visiting OUT Maine’s website.