Diversity Prompt
I find this to be a very difficult question. It’s especially hard because I know what I’d want in a perfect world but alas, we live in a deeply flawed world where homophobia, transphobia, and racism are all too prevalent. And while it’s terrible that these hateful thoughts and ideations have to affect how we conduct our work, the harsh truth is that they do.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I absolutely prefer to read books with protagonists of the community as well, specifically sapphic protagonists. There are so many queer books out there anymore (far more than when I was a teenager and coming out) and I can connect with those protagonists and storylines far more than some heterosexual ones. So in a perfect, idealistic world I think it sounds great to have a curated little section of LGBTQ+ books that I would be specifically interested in rather than have to sort through the entire collection. Catalog tags and subject headings do make this lots easier online, but in branch it can be difficult. I cannot speak from a personal viewpoint on Urban Fiction, but I imagine there are similar conflicting opinions. Separation makes it easy to find what you’re looking for… but at what cost?
Homophobia, transphobia, and racism are real, they’re scary, and they affect communities and libraries in unfortunately profound ways. In Indiana (and many other states) there are bills up for debate to limit or remove LGBTQ+ books in libraries. There’s debates that these books should be separated in a dark alcove in the back of the adult section where no child could ever come across them. There’s lists of banned books across the nation that include LGBTQ+ books as well as books with Black protagonists such as The Hate U Give. These real-world problems make my desire to find queer books easily pale in comparison, in my opinion.
My reasons for keeping these two collections interfiled in the imperfect world we live in are:
- Safety. Above all, safety. Patrons might have fear being seen in a designated collection area. This could be especially true of children whose parents don’t approve of them reading such titles. Other patrons might have a desire to vandalize specific books if they’re all shelved together.
- Othering. While it wouldn’t be the intention, segregating these collections could lead to a sense of othering which would make it easier for people to argue against removing budgets for these collections or restricting them even further. If the LGBTQ+ books are already separate, then it’s all the easier for rules to be put in place that make only adult cards able to check them out.
- Serendipity. Patrons who may not generally read Urban Fiction or LGBTQ+ books can come across them organically and serendipitously if they’re interfiled with the rest of fiction. This can lead to an expanding of viewpoints and experiencing lives other than their own.
Like you, I also would love to have a curated section of LGBTQ books to choose from (since at this point, I almost exclusively read books featuring queer characters like myself) in a perfect world! But I also had the same concerns about safety, especially in my state where libraries are actively in the process of contesting the state legislature over their censorship/banning efforts and, as retribution, are now basically one state senate vote away from losing state funding altogether. It unfortunately feels like a huge risk to give these books their own space, and I didn't even consider how the very act of separating these materials would easily lead to further restrictions. That's such a critical element of making this kind of decision, so I'm grateful to you for making that connection.
ReplyDeleteHi Laurie, I like your 3rd reason. By leaving books in a more generalized collection, many patrons will pick up something that they may not have if otherwise labeled. Recently, the school librarian at my school and I were discussing a particular novel and whether it would be circulated more if it was labeled as realistic fiction or romance. The main character is male, but it can be difficult to get high school boys to pick up something with a huge heart romance sticker on it. This might also be the case with other genres as well.
ReplyDeleteExcellent points! Safety and censorship are so prevalent today. Like Brooke mentioned - I also love your third reason! Full points and very well stated!
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