A presentation given by Matthew Ciszek, Tara Fay, and Kristen Yarmey at the October 2011 Pennsylvania Library Association annual conference in State College, PA. Description: Much work has been done in public and school libraries to serve the information needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning patrons. In this session, attendees will learn to transform these ideas into winning strategies for making an academic library a “safe space.” Presenters will provide an introduction to GLBTQ awareness, offer suggestions for providing collections and services for GLBTQ patrons, and share their experiences in building relationships with GLBTQ groups on campus and in the community.

1. A SAFE SPACE ON CAMPUS
Winning strategies academic libraries can use
to serve GLBTQ students and faculty
Matthew Ciszek, Penn State Shenango
Kristen Yarmey, University of Scranton
Tara Fay, University of Scranton
PALA 2011

2. www.slideshare.net/kristenyt

3. GOALS
• Serve all our patrons
• Provide a safe, welcoming
environment

4. GETTING THERE
• GLBTQ awareness
• Information needs &
collection development
• Outreach

5. GLBTQ
What???

6. GLB Terms
• Gay: Term used to describe homosexuals; most
specifically, homosexual males
• Lesbian: Term used to specifically describe
homosexual women
• Bisexual: Term used to describe men and women
who have romantic/sexual attractions to members
of both sexes

7. Gender basics...
• The term transgender is an umbrella term that can
encompass transsexuals (those who desire and/or
pursue a change of sex), gender variant individuals,
drag queens/kings, and others
o Transgender individuals may identify as heterosexual,
gay/lesbian, or bisexual
• Intersex: A person whose combination of
chromosomes, gonads, hormones, internal sex
organs, and/or genitals differs from one of the two
expected patterns

8. What is the Difference Between Sex &
Gender?
• Our biological sex is what we are born with in terms
of chromosomes, hormones and our primary and
secondary sex characteristics
Male Intersex Female
Genitals do not determine identity

9. What is the Difference Between Sex &
Gender?
• Gender is the collection of characteristics that are culturally
associated with maleness or femaleness
• The dichotomies of male/female, women/men are social
constructs
• Our gender identity is the way we think about our own gender,
ourselves, and to what degree we identify with our own gender
Man Woman

10. What is Gender Expression?
• In contrast to gender identity, a person’s gender
expression is externally and socially perceived
• Gender expression refers to all the external
characteristics and behaviors that are socially defined
as either masculine or feminine: hairstyle, clothing,
gestures, shape of one’s body, vocabulary, tone of
voice, etc
Masculine Androgynous Feminine

11. What is Sexual Orientation?
• Sexual orientation refers to one's sexual and
romantic attraction
o There is often an awareness of being “different” from peers in
childhood
o There is often an awareness of same-gender attraction in early
teen years
Homosexual Bisexual Heterosexual

12. “Coming Out of the Closet”
• Coming out is a process of understanding,
accepting, and valuing one’s sexual
orientation/identity and disclosing this to others
• Coming out is a continuous, lifelong, and often
repeated process (or not)
• The Closet/Closeted

13. Other Terms/Definitions
• Homophobia: The irrational fear and/or hatred of
same-sex relationships and gay people
• Heterosexism: The idea that there is a natural form
of sexuality which our society perpetuates (man +
woman)
• Privilege: A right or resource that one group has
access to and from which other groups are denied

14. QUESTIONS?

15. GLBTQ Collection Development
• Colleges and universities have seen a rise in the
number of self-identified GLBTQ students
• Many more students may not identify as GLBTQ, but
have information needs in this area
• Library literature indicates that the information
needs of the GLBTQ community are largely unmet
and libraries lack the skills and resources to meet
these needs

16. GLBTQ Collection Development
Selecting Resources
• Books and Print Resources
o Lambda Literary
o Gay and Lesbian Review
o ALA GLBT Round Table Newsletter
o ALA Rainbow Project and Over the Rainbow
• Bibliographies
o ALA GLBT Round Table
o LGBT Language, Discources, and Rhetorics
o Trans-Academics Reference Library

17. GLBTQ Collection Development
Selecting Resources
• Research Databases
o LGBT Life
o Alternative Press Index
o Women's Studies International
o GenderWatch
• Journals
o The Advocate
o Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide
o GLQ
o Many other subject based journals on GLBTQ topics

18. GLBTQ Collection Development
Making Resources Available
• Research Guides
o Essential to have in an electronic format
o Web-based resources linked to better environment
o Guides should have a contact person for follow up
o Separate guide for GLBTQ topics
o Provide for links to other libraries/organizations
o Many good examples we can build from:
 Penn State
 University of Scranton
 Northern Illinois

19. GLBTQ Collection Development
Making Resources Available
• Include non-library collections located at GLBTQ Centers or
Student Affairs offices in the library catalog
• Seek to catalog materials under subject headings and
keyword thesauri that contain generally accepted terms
• Consider co-locating all of the GLBTQ materials in a special
collection or separate shelving
• Consider outside funding from student affairs, GLBTQ
organizations, or elsewhere if needed
• Promote GLBTQ collections in library newsletters, websites,
and other communications

20. GLBTQ Collection Development
Assigning a Subject Specialist
• Allows the library to identify an "expert" in GLBTQ Studies
• Functions as a local resource on the subject
• Provides a point-of-contact that patrons can feel
comfortable discussing "sensitive" topics
• Provides a gateway between faculty working on research in
the area and campus GLBTQ student organizations and the
library
• Facilitates training in GLBTQ topics for all library staff

21. GLBTQ Reference Services
• All front line and reference staff should have a basic
knowledge of GLBTQ issues
• Staff should have a familiarity with basic terms and be able
to refer questions to a "expert“
• Research has found that GLBTQ students appreciate
reference service in a non-public environment
• Consider the availability of e-mail or online reference
services with a link from the Subject Guide
• Public services librarians may consider participating in
campus GLBTQ awareness training or becoming a "safe
space"

22. QUESTIONS?

23. Outreach
• Why?
• Find out what we’re missing
• Highlight our commitment to serve all patrons
• Educate our students as whole people

24. Outreach

25. Outreach
Photo courtesy of William & Mary Law Library (cc) Photo courtesy of Flickr user Brian B. Sorensen (used with permission)

26. Outreach
Photo courtesy of Alachua County Library (with permission)

27. Outreach
Photos courtesy of Fairfield University’s DiMenna-Nyselius Library (used with permission)

28. Outreach
book talks, film showings, poetry readings, read-a-thons…

29. Outreach

30. Outreach

31. Outreach
Collaborative Outreach
• Wellness Centers
• Counseling Centers
• Student Activities
• Social Justice groups

32. Outreach
Events
• National Pride Month – June
• Pride parades and festivals (local)
• LGBT History Month - October
• National Coming Out Day – October 11
• Day of Silence – April 20
• Transgender Day of Remembrance – November 20

33. Outreach
How do we get feedback?
• Ask students/faculty/staff in ally groups about
their experiences
• “As a GLBTQ/ally library user, I feel welcome
when…”
• Invite an ally group member to serve on library
advisory board

34. A few closing thoughts...
• You don’t need to be an expert to create a safe
space
• Know enough to point someone to helpful
resources (or to a campus expert)

35. QUESTIONS?

36. Thank you!
www.slideshare.net/kristenyt

37. Resources
• ALA GLBT Round Table
– GLBT Reviews
– Rainbow Project
– Newsletter
– Bibliographies
• Access to Library Resources and Services Regardless of Sex, Gender
Identity, Gender Expression, or Sexual Orientation: An Interpretation of
the Library Bill of Rights”(1993, last amended 2008)

38. Resources
Matt’s work:
• “Out on the Web: The Relationship between Campus Climate and GLBT-
Related Web-Based Resources in Academic Libraries” - coming soon to the
Journal of Academic Librarianship!
• Ciszek, M. "Managing Outside the Closet: On Being an Openly Gay Library
Administrator." Out Behind the Desk: Workplace Issues for LGBTQ Librarians.
Ed. Tracy Nectoux. Duluth, MN: Library Juice Press, 2011.
• Ciszek, M. and C. L. Young. "Diversity Collection Assessment in Large
Academic Libraries." Collection Building. 29.4 (2010): 154-161.

39. Resources
Great resources/research from other librarians!
• Alexander, Linda B., and Sarah D. Miselis. "Barriers to GLBTQ Collection
Development and Strategies for Overcoming Them." Young Adult Library
Services 5.3 (2007): 43-49.
• Gough, Cal, and Ellen Greenblatt. Gay and Lesbian Library Service.
Jefferson, N.C: McFarland, 1990.
• Greenblatt, Ellen. “Exploring LGBTQ Online Resources.” Journal of Library
Administration 43.4 (2005): 85-101.
• Johnson, Matt. “Transgender Subject Access: History and Current Practice.”
Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 48 (2010): 664.
• Joyce, Steven. “Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Library Service: A Review of the
Literature.” Public Libraries 39.5 (2000): 270-279.

40. • Kadour, Ric Kasini. “Power of Data, the Price of Exclusion.” Harvard Gay &
Lesbian Review 12.1 (2005): 31-33.
• Lee, Kam Yan and Jenna Freedman. “Odd Girl In: Lesbian Fiction Holdings
at Barnard College.” Collection Building 29 (2010): 22-26.
• Lupien, Pascal. “GLBT/Sexual Diversity Studies Students and Academic
Libraries: A Study of User Perceptions and Satisfaction.” The Canadian
Journal of Information and Library Science 31 (2007): 131-147.
• Lutes, Michael A. and Michael A. Montgomery. “Out in the Stacks:
Opening Academic Library Collections to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Students.” Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Students: A Handbook for Faculty and Administrators. Ed. Ronni
L. Sanlo. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998.

41. • Martin, Hillias J, and James R. Murdock. Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender, and Questioning Teens: A How-to-Do-It Manual for Librarians.
New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2007.
• Mathson, Stephanie and Jeffrey Hancks. “Privacy Please? A Comparison
Between Self-Checkout and Book Checkout Desk Circulation Rates for
LGBT and Other Books.” Journal of Access Services 4 (2006): 27-37.
• McDowell, Sara. “Library Instruction for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgendered College Students.” Teaching the New Library to Today's
Users. Ed. Trudi Jacobson and Helene C. Williams. New York: Neal-
Schuman, 2000. 71-86.
• Mehra, Bharat and Donna Braquet. “Library and Information Science
Professionals as Community Action Researchers in an Academic Setting:
Top Ten Directions to Further Institutional Change for People of Diverse
Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities.” Library Trends 52 (Fall 2007):
542-565.

42. • Moss, Eleanor. “An Inductive Evaluation of a Public Library GLBT
Collection.” Collection Building 27 (2008): 149-156.
• Rankin, Sue, Genevieve Weber, Warren Blumenfeld, and Somjen Frazer.
2010 State of Higher Education for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
People. Charlotte, North Carolina: Campus Pride, 2010.
• Renn, Kristen A. “LGBT and Queer Research in Higher Education: The
State and Status of the Field.” Educational Researcher 39 (2010): 134.
• Simpson, Stacy H. “Why Have a Comprehensive & Representative
Collection?: GLBT Material Selection and Service in the Public Library.”
Progressive Librarian 44 (Summer 2007): 44-51.
• Switzer, Anne T. “Redefining Diversity: Creating an Inclusive Academic
Library through Diversity Initiatives.” College & Undergraduate Libraries 15
(2008): 280-299.

43. • Taylor, Jami K. “Targeting the Information Needs of Transgender
Individuals.” Current Studies in Librarianship 26 (Spring/Fall 2002): 85-109.
• Willis, Alfred. “The Greatest Taboo and the HBCU.” Against the Grain 16
(February 2004): 34-36.