Providing Library Services to Queer Youth
Curry, A. (2005). If I ask, will they answer?: Evaluating public library reference service to gay/lesbian youth. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 45(1), 65-75.
In her analysis of library services to gay and lesbian youth, Dr. Ann Curry provides an overview of some of the major issues affecting this at-risk group. The high rates of harassment and physical abuse of queer youth lead to a plethora of other issues including dropping out of school, homelessness and suicide rates much higher than the general population. Taking cues from notable queer resources, Curry notes that the library is often a major information source for people who are coming out and are attempting to find themselves represented in library literature.
Curry delves into the issue of librarian discomfort in discussing homosexuality in the reference interview, which greatly impacts the quality of service to queer and questioning youth. The discomfort of librarians performing reference interviews can turn kids in need of assistance away from the library. All public librarians (regardless if young adult services is their specialty) should read this article and begin to address their own shortcomings in providing services to queer and questioning youth.
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Gilomen, J. (Director). (2005). Queer youth speak: In and out at the library [Motion picture]. United States: Forward Films. Retrieved March 16, 2008, from http://www.forwardfilms.org/ index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=60.
Jennifer Gilomen’s documentary “Queer Youth Speak” is a sublime example of how libraries can positively serve LGBTQ youth. San Francisco Public Library’s “Out at the Library” exhibit showcases its collection of queer archives, which makes visible the histories of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals and communities. Gilomen’s short narrative takes a look at the effect this exhibit has on queer youth. The two youths featured in this film narrate their own histories, contributing to the documentation of queer identities. In creating their own scrapbooks, the they are able to make connections to others and demonstrate the need for queer visibility. Gilomen’s work is more of an art piece than an informative educational tool, but it provides testament to the lack of queer people and history in the mainstream media and the library’s crucial role in reaching out to this invisible minority by showcasing queer history and creating queer spaces in the library.
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Girl’s Best Friend Foundation & Advocates for Youth (2005). Creating Safe Space for GLBTQ Youth: A Toolkit. Retrieved March 21, 2008, from http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/ safespace/safespace.pdf.
This program is a combined effort by Girl’s Best Friend and Advocates for Youth, organizations devoted to protecting the human rights of young women and advancing youth’s reproductive and sexual rights, respectively. This toolkit aids in the creation of safe spaces for queer youths, including tips and strategies for dealing with harassment by other youths, as well as lesson plans that can be useful for libraries interested in training staff and creating policies for making the library a safe space and meeting the needs of LGBTQ youth of color and transgender youth. Of special note is Meg Earls’ short piece describing some major issues facing LGBTQ youth. Though the barriers influencing this group’s information needs (such as physical and verbal abuse, increasing sexual risk-taking, suicide attempts and the lack of role models) have similarly been described by other organizations, this piece is remarkable because it address the fact that queer youth of color have additional issues due to their unique dual status as a sexual/gender and racial minorities. The acknowledgment that most programs and models are based on a white, middle-class experience and attempting to redress this deficiency is vital to our work as librarians. Addressing the complexity race brings to LGBTQ issues and solid action plans to create a safe space for queer youth make this website a resource which should be in every young adult librarian’s bookmark folder or del.icio.us account.
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Linville, D. (2004) Beyond picket fences: What gay/queer/LGBTQ teens want from the library. Voices of Youth Advocates, 27(3), 183-6.
In surveying queer teens, Darla Linville was able to ascertain what young LGBTQ readers’ main needs are in accessing materials from the library. The main information needs for queer youth were in learning about other real people, such as coming out stories, as well as seeking materials on activism and fictional stories with queer protagonists. In discussing what librarians can do to address these information needs, Linville makes suggestions for items that could supplement lacking collections, such as books that contain “real stories about real teens.” One important issue raised by Linville is the problem of material visibility in the library; even if a library has a great teen LGBTQ collection, a major question is how to go about making it accessible while simultaneously allowing for discretion for those who might be embarrassed or run the risk ostracism by being seen reading a queer book. It is important that librarians scrutinize and find solid solutions to the issues raised by Linville when developing a LGBTQ collection for young adults.
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McManus, M.C., Asher, G., Boodworth, R., Chambers, J., Fulmer, S., Goldberg, E., et al. (1991). Oregon’s sexual minority youth: An at-risk population : Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth. Portland, OR: Task Force on Sexual Minority Youth.
With contributors from varying backgrounds such as a high school teacher and the director of the gay counseling group Phoenix Rising, this report compiled by members of the Task Force on Sexual Minority Youth is thorough in its analysis of the problems facing queer youth. McManus herself is a manager with a children’s mental health research organization, and the collaboration between the authors culminates in one of the best reports on the dangers affecting lesbian, gay and bisexual youth in Oregon. Though it was published in 1991 and statistics may have changed, the facts outlined remain the same: Queer youth run a high risk of depression and suicide, drug abuse, homelessness, prostitution and sexual abuse, as well as the resulting victimization of heterosexism/homophobia and violent crimes. Librarians will find the Task Force recommendations for the organizational level to be pertinent in creating a safe space where queer youth can find role models, socialization and recreation, as well as access to information.
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Martin, H.J., Jr. & Murdock, J.R. (2007). Serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning teens: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman.
If you are only going to read one resource on serving queer youth, this How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians is the must have item. With a foreward by gay young adult author David Levithan, Martin and Murdock have put together a resource that not only provides ideas, but walks you through serving LGBTQ teens with a special emphasis on providing consistent and sensitive reference interviews, as well as identifying suitable materials for collection development and programming suggestions. Of special note are the step-by-step instructions for implementing eighteen different programs and sample scripts for booktalks. The amazing bibliography of must-have young adult LGBTQ fiction, non-fiction and non-print items is fairly current and coded for easy reference by sexual orientation, character type, and sexual content; in the following chapter, there are thirty-four lists of materials categorized by topic, such as “Fiction with Unexpected Queer Twists and Characters”, “Graphic Novels” and “People of Color in Queer YA Fiction”. Easy to read, this essential handbook is a must-read and should be a ready reference material for any librarian serving teens.
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Mehra, B. & Braquet, D. (2006). A “queer” manifesto of interventions for libraries to “come out” of the closet! A study of “queer” youth experiences during the coming out process. LIBRES: Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal 16(1). Retrieved March 16, 2008, from http://libres.curtin.edu.au/libres16n1/.
“A ‘Queer’ Manifesto” is an excellent resource for librarians attempting to act as allies to queer youth. Mehra and Braquet focus on the fact that libraries have the opportunity to provide a safe space for queer youth; noting the harmful effects of homophobia, they challenge that providing a safe haven for at-risk youth could save lives. The authors are obviously attentive to the needs of this community, as the article is peppered with the use of the word “queer”, which has historically been used in negative connotations but is now utilized by the LGBTQ community in positive reclamation.
In addition to discussing significant challenges for providing service to queer youth, Mehra and Braquet have assembled a list of specific interventions, such as creating visibility of LGBTQ resources, creating a queer section on library home page, and ready-reference resources in order to actually provide materials and make referrals to social services. This document is a must read for any librarian in serving the needs of this community.
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Multnomah County Library. (n.d.). Gay, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, transsexual booklist. Retrieved March 18, 2008, from http://www.multcolib.org/teens/glbt.html
Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon has created a LGBTQ teen reading list for those looking for book recommendations. The list is broken down in three parts: Fiction, non-fiction and books published for adults that would be of interest to teens. Also on the site is supplementary instruction and tips for finding additional materials. Unfortunately, the links provided use keyword searches, which are mostly unhelpful in searching for fiction with queer content, as many reference works but few novels contain the words “gay” or “lesbian” as a keyword; links to subject headings would be much more useful. The list is current, with an emphasis on contemporary titles, and is far from comprehensive. It would be helpful to include alternative fiction (such as graphic novels) and suggestions for classics, such as Annie on My Mind. Even with these shortcomings, the publication of such a list on the library website is a great way to recognize and validate the existence of queer youths. Having county-specific library websites that give special attention to LGBTQ youth is an excellent way of not only reaching out to queer youth, but providing a resource for librarians, teachers, parents and allies to access current information.
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Trans/Identity Resource Center (n.d.). Transgender Reference Library. Portland, OR: Q Center. Retrieved March 21, 2008 from http://www.pdxqcenter.org/?page_id=181
Developed by the Trans/Identity Resource Center, a program by the Portland, Oregon-based non-profit Outside In (which works with at-risk youth), the Transgender Reference Library is an amazing asset to the community and to librarians. Funded by the Pacific Northwest Region’s National Network of Libraries of Medicine and housed in the Q Center, Portland’s new queer community center, this library boasts a collection of over 400 titles specific to trans interest and issues. From its home page on the Q Center’s website, a search toolbar allows users to find books in the Library, which is cataloged online. It is pivotal that trans youth be provided with resources that will allow them to succeed, but accessing these resources can be difficult, as transgender issues have not been historically documented in a positive, life-affirming way. The compilation of this collection demonstrates the existence of a thriving transgendered community that is in need of resources. This library and online search engine would be an excellent resource referral for trans youth and their allies, as well as being a tool for assisting librarians in collection development for this often neglected population.
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Worth the Trip: Queer books for kids and teens. Retrieved March 13, 2008, from http://worththetrip.wordpress.com/.
“Worth the Trip” is a blog dedicated to covering queer literature for kids and teens. In addition to excellent reviews of contemporary and classic novels, there are extensive resources for those searching for youth literature with queer content, such as links to the Young Adult Library Services Association’s (YALSA) GLBTQ book list and to public libraries that are queer-friendly. Of special note is the list of young adult authors who identify as queer (such as Bret Hartinger and Ariel Schrag) and those who are queer allies and write about LGBTQ characters (Francesca Lia Block). The site is updated weekly with new reviews, so those who want to stay on the cutting edge of queer young adult fiction would find this blog extremely helpful.
