Conn. (WTNH) — The Rainbow Library Project runs in eight different states including Connecticut with 240 Rainbow Libraries in public and school libraries across the state. 

The project donated 7,500 books and about a dozen books ended up at Naugatuck High School. 

Jen Brennan is an English teacher at Naugatuck High School and the co-advisor for their Gay Straight Alliance, she applied for the program. She tells News 8, “The application process took two minutes and along with these texts teachers also get resources professional development opportunities, curriculum guides, ways to incorporate these texts in our own classrooms.”

The program sends about a dozen books to each of the libraries, “They’re fiction and nonfiction books written by LGBTQ authors and have LGBTQ protagonists.” 

Brennan says she heard about the program during a seminar, “In a seminar I was taking, I learned about this. I applied for it before COVID. It took some time but it was so worth the wait the books are fantastic.” 

Her hope is the program encourages inclusivity and representation. 

Since receiving the books this past December, other programs have added to the collection and they’ve already added an additional 50 books to their Rainbow Library.