The book is such a funny and deeply satisfying romantic comedy. What were the romantic comedies or romance novels that were important to you as a reader?

I’m a huge Nora Ephron fan—one of the first movies I can remember seeing in the theater was You’ve Got Mail—so her entire body of work has always been a huge inspiration for me. I also absolutely adored 10 Things I Hate About You, Notting Hill, and 13 Going on 30 when I was younger, and I still have a soft spot for classics like Roman Holiday. I have to confess that I didn’t spend my formative reading a lot of romance—I was always more into genre fiction and picking out pairings I liked from within those works—but as I’ve grown as a writer and found my niche, I’ve had a blast catching myself up with romances by authors like Taylor Jenkins Reid, Alyssa Cole, Helen Hoang, Heather Cocks, and Jessica Morgan.

One of the real pleasures of the book is how fleshed out the supporting players are. Even if we only meet them for a few sentences, we get a full sense of their life. What is your process for creating characters?

I probably spend way too much time crafting my characters instead of drafting in the early days of a project, but I just love doing it too much. I usually start with a basic idea of what the character’s personality is going to be—maybe inspired by someone I know or know of, maybe just completely made up—and assign them some basic shorthand character trait categories: zodiac sign, MBTI, Hogwarts house, et cetera. Then I sort of work backwards from there. What made them that way? Where are they from? How did they get from there to here? What part of humanity that I love do I want them to embody? What kind of jokes would they make? What tropes can I infuse into them? And the answers to those questions start to make a character.

The book gives us such a detailed view of the behind the scenes worlds of The White House and Buckingham Palace. What was your research process like?

A lot of Googling! I read some dry nonfiction about the first family and the royal family through history, and then spent a lot of time perusing an unofficial White House museum website that contains detailed maps of every floor and history of each room (shout out WhiteHouseMuseum.org). I pored through the Royal Collection’s online database, took many virtual tours of the V&A, referred back to my own memories of Kensington from the time I spent in London in college, so much more. It was a lot of jotting down anything that interested me or felt like it might be useful for the plot, and then hodge-podging it all together into something that worked. The goal was to make this incredibly inaccessible world feel lived in and easy to imagine.

When Alex and Henry e-mail each other, they frequently quote from the love letters of famous queer people. How did that detail find its way into their story?

When I decided to write a queer story that would have major international ramifications and change the history of the world it’s set in, I knew I couldn’t do it in a vacuum. As a queer person and a history nerd, I wanted this story to feel rooted in queer history, for both of my leads to be totally aware of what their relationship meant in the bigger picture of the world, to dig into the millions of people like them who were erased from their own histories and their own narratives. So the letters evolved out of that—I always knew I wanted Henry to be this great writer of love letters, and it sort of naturally followed that he would be a scholar of them and share that with Alex. Using the excerpts was my way of framing them as a bigger piece of an ongoing history.

The book takes place in an alternate 2019 where we have a totally different First Family in the U.S. and Royal Family in Great Britain. How did you balance including which real life things were still in this world (like Senator McConnell, for example) versus the characters you totally created?

An early reviewer of my book described it as being a quarter turn away from reality, and ever since, I’ve always liked to picture that as what this reality is. I wanted this to be a book full of hope and optimism and escapism that also didn’t pretend that the things that led us to 2016 would magically be fixed if a different person was in the White House. So we still have a long history of institutional oppression, we still have terrible politicians and Fox News, but we also had just enough things go differently (it’s subtle, but in the book there’s a mention of Democrats maintaining control of the Senate after Obama’s election) for us to have some different outcomes. It was all about drawing a line that could make this world still real and relatable, but also make it believably hopeful.

You just finished your book tour for the novel. What was that experience like?

Incredible! Everyone I met on tour was so incredibly kind and generous and supportive and really carried me through all the emotional highs and lows that come with debuting a book. My tour schedule brought me to three different Prides in three of the biggest cities in the country—Los Angeles, Denver, and Houston—and it was amazing to get to be a queer person promoting a queer book surrounded by other queer people celebrating and rebelling and standing up for what’s right. I’m so very, very thankful for the summer I’ve had and for the love people have shown me in every city I’ve hit. That energy is going to power me through the rest of the year.

What role have libraries played in your life?

I can’t remember a time when libraries weren’t a part of my life. I remember being a kid racking up late fees and spending days at summer programs at the public library by my house, skipping recess to stay inside my elementary school library, spending hours and hours camped out in my college library getting distracted from my exam outlines to work on my own stories. They’ve always represented endless possibilities to me, and they’ve always been this sort of goal on the horizon—I always wanted to have a book in one, one day. When I had my first big call with my agent and now editor to discuss a potential deal for my first book, I took a lunch break and drove out to my childhood library and sat in my car in the parking lot to have the conversation, just to feel that full circle moment. So, yeah, libraries have been everything to me. I think they’re one of the great symbols of communities being, at heart, generous and good.

The post Casey McQuiston on Nora Ephron, History Nerds, and Full Circle Moments at her Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Public Libraries Online: Throughout the book, Pen seeks to define herself on her own terms, and consistently runs up against problems with how other people perceive her. What were the challenges of tackling such a profound issue while still staying true to the book’s very funny tone?

M-E Girard: I find that the act of witnessing someone else’s hardships and pain through hearing their story will sometimes give the outsider this sense of devastation that’s exaggerated. Someone might read Pen’s story and think, This poor thing—this is awful—how can life be this way for a teenager? It’s so unfair! Like, yeah, it’s pretty unfair and awful what Pen has to deal with—and the point of the story is to make the reader aware of it—but to her, it’s just life. She knows it sucks, and she’s tired of it, but she’s been doing her thing despite it all. She’s resilient, and she’s adapted, so there was no question that throughout all the handling of unique difficulties, she was just going to be some regular kid with her own qualities, flaws, and interests. So I never had any conscious thought about balancing the heavy issues and the funny, lighthearted moments because I just felt like I was writing Pen’s life, the way she experiences it, and Pen is naïve, and funny, and a bit insensitive, and playful—so that stuff was just going to be there in the words.

PLO: Pen and her girlfriend Blake are gamers and both use video games as a means of self-expression. How did you decide to make gaming such a significant component of the novel?

MG: My girlfriend and I are pretty big gamers, so I was definitely going to pull on my knowledge and experience of gaming for something! But besides that, gaming fit so well for this story and for Pen’s characterization—she’s just a little geek-culture dude in general. Gaming—well, a lot of geek culture stuff, really—is something we’ve traditionally seen as belonging to boys, so that was a great way to strengthen the gender norms theme of the story—and also a great way to put more gamer girls out there in the world! Gaming figures in almost all the relationships Pen has: the idea of the different gaming styles between Pen and Blake (how they mirror their ways of handling life in general), the way her brother has her back in co-op mode, the competitive nature of gaming with Colby—there’s so much. It’s like, once I opened the door to gaming, it was everywhere.

PLO: Pen struggles with the concepts of respect and loyalty throughout the novel, especially with her male friends and her Portuguese family. How did these concepts come into play during the creation of the story?

MG: These things came out through revision. At first, I was just concerned with telling this story about how difficult these boxes and rules are to deal with when you don’t quite fit and others are expecting you to bend and conform. Then, as I revised, more specific things—things that were really particular to this character—came out. It’s kind of the same way I handled gaming. Once I sat back and examined what I had, I was able to pick out the important seeds that had been planted into the story without my full awareness. Then I could really water the crap out of them and watch them spread across the whole narrative. So respect and loyalty became much more important during revision, when they suddenly guided the way scenes played out. Revision is so where it’s at, in terms of writing!

PLO: On your blog, you write about the many rounds of revisions that Girl Mans Up underwent before its publication. What was helpful to you about such an extensive revision process?

MG: Speaking of revision! The first couple drafts were me getting to know the characters, trying to say certain things but not executing it very well. I’m a new writer, and I did a lot of learning with Girl Mans Up. Like I talked about in the previous question, revision allowed me to find the little things I had inserted in there, bring them out, and thread them through the narrative. I’m hoping I’ve done enough learning so that the next book won’t require quite so many rounds—ha!

PLO: Besides writing novels, you also work as a pediatric nurse. Has your medical career had any influence on your writing career or writing style?

MG: When I turned 27, I had this moment when I was like, Wait—am I going to do nothing but be a nurse for the rest of my life? I’m grateful to have the nursing career I have, but I’ve always had a creative side, and I’d never really done anything with it. The nature of my job—one-on-one night-shift community care—meant that I had some time at work to read or write (depending on how stable my clients were), so that was one of the reasons I decided to try getting serious about writing. The company I work for is also very supportive of my writing endeavors, and they’ve been incredibly accommodating with my schedule which allowed me to attend writing events, retreats, and, more recently, plan a variety of book tour events. So in that way, my medical career has completely influenced my writing career by making it possible!

PLO: You’ve twice participated in the Lambda Literary’s Writer’s Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices. What have those experiences been like for you?

MG: I don’t think Girl Mans Up would be what it is—and where it is—today without the Lambda retreat. I applied seeking exactly what the retreat was established for: to fill a void in the development of LGBTQ writers. Until Lambda 2013, I’d had trouble getting specific feedback and critique of my work because I didn’t know any queer writers who could critique what I was doing. I had a narrow view of the world, and of queerness—I mean, I had no awareness of privilege and oppression! I also met Malinda Lo at the 2013 retreat (she was my workshop facilitator) and having her input was such an amazing opportunity. The retreat delivered on what it offered: having my manuscript workshopped, attending presentations, meeting other queer writers. But it paid off long after the week was over. It sent me home with awareness, and words and concepts to research. I did so much learning the six months after returning from the retreat, and I ended up revising Girl Mans Up into the version that hooked my editor. There was so much to gain from attending the retreat, and I am so glad I took a chance and applied.

The post M-E Girard On Gaming, Rewriting, And Creating Her Multifaceted Main Character first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Last month, Kelly Jensen from BOOKRIOT published an article titled Queer Phobia and the Public Library. In her article, Jensen describes the challenges libraries face in providing material and programming (or lack thereof) for queer patrons. Challenges mostly center on whether a queer book should be obtained by the library; then, if a library decides to obtain such an item, where to place that item in the collection, and whether the item should have special requirements placed upon it (such as being placed in an isolated area or marked with a special identifying mark).

For instance, Jensen, reporting on an article from The Oklahoman, describes the Metropolitan Library System’s (Oklahoma City, OK) practice of separating queer children’s books from non-queer children’s books. MLS accomplishes this by grouping queer children’s books with books on such topics as divorce and drug use, in an elevated section so that children may not access the books without parental supervision. Jensen identifies such a practice as a microagression on LGBTQIA patrons. She points out that the library is making a statement by separating queer children’s books from non-queer books, implying that the books are not normal.

Behaviors such as this marginalize LGBTQIA patrons, and can make them feel like they are separated from the community in which the library resides. Consider for a moment, a queer family (two dads/two moms & their child/ren) who visit the library seeking LGBTQIA children’s books. Imagine a library staff person walking them to the area where they are kept. Picture the hurt and confusion when they discover that the books they are looking for are mixed with those on depression, sexual abuse, death, and alcohol abuse.

Some libraries are stepping up and embracing their queer patrons. The Ames Public Library (IA) just hosted a teen drag show on November 12, open to anyone between the ages of 14 and 20 (including performers and audience members). The library served refreshments and freely welcomed teens in the community who wanted to participate or to just view the show. Events like this can help generate dialogue between those who identify as LGBTQIA and other members of the community.

Ask yourself what you can do to make your library a more positive place for queer patrons. Assess if there are areas of improvement or current policies that can be changed, such as separating queer books from the main collection. Finally, consider contacting a local LGBTQIA advocacy group in your community to collaborate with the library, and to help with hosting LGBTQIA events.

The post Making the Library a Positive Place for LGBTQIA Patrons first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The Feds

Since 2003, the Children’s Internet Protection Act has been a presence in schools and public libraries which receive certain types of federal funding.  Under this act, Internet filtering software is utilized, which can do more detriment than good. We all know that filtering software can be problematic for a teenager performing research on “safer sex practices” when they are too ashamed to ask an adult or check out a book on the subject. However, libraries are not in a financial situation to deny federal funds, so what do we do? Do we defend the principles of our vocation, filtering all of the Internet computers, and take the money? Or do we deny the funds thus giving our patrons the right to view what they want–including material deemed obscene? Librarians can override the filter if needed, but very few patrons will want to have their inquiries “approved.”

It is our job to provide information, but if we make the whole Internet accessible to our patrons, the library becomes ineligible for the eRate program. In “Fencing out Knowledge:  Impacts of CIPA 10 Years Later,” a study found that “half of all libraries with Internet filters received requests from adult patrons to unblock the filters for legitimate purposes.”[1]   To have or not to have federal funding for the library’s Internet is quite a conundrum.  Providing information and a broad array of materials to our patrons is the purpose of the library, but at what cost?

The Patrons

I have witnessed two ways in which a patron can censor or attempt to censor.  The first more traditional means of challenging materials is when a patron comes in and reports to the librarian that they believe an item is offensive. Most often this happens in the youth department, but I have seen it happen in the Adult Department. For example, a woman came in and wanted Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out removed because her teenager checked it out and she found it offensive. Now, this is not entirely censorship because we did not remove it, but she did want it removed.

Another incident occurred during the 2008 Barack Obama and John McCain presidential election. We had a patron at our library who decided to make all of the McCain books “unavailable” to other patrons. She achieved this by checking out all of the McCain books we had, so that other patrons could not read them.

The Librarians 

When a librarian does not want to acquire controversial material for the library because it may cause an uproar within in the community, that is a form of censorship. I once had a boss who made me send back a book to our vendor because the title was offensive and she was worried that it would insult the patrons (never mind it was a best seller). Public school libraries are not required to have LGBTQ literature in their collection. While the age in which we live is more accepting than it was at one time, a lot of people still have a problem with these materials. Therefore, many public school librarians will not add the genre to their collection, in order to dodge any potential issues that may arise.

These are a few of the types of censorship that may occur at the library and a lot of us do it more than we know. I wanted to write this article to make ourselves aware of censoring. According to Lamba Legal, in addition to not purchasing materials, “some school districts, organizations and individuals have attempted, unlawfully, to restrict students’ access to books or websites purely because they address LGBTQ themes or other issues related to diversity.”[2]  Instead of trying to hide LGBTQ themes from the library, we should be encouraging patrons to educate themselves. To educate oneself is to alleviate the fear that may be a result of ignorance. Please do not foster ignorance by denying patrons the freedom to form their own opinions.

References

[1] Kristen Batch. “Fencing out Knowledge: Impacts of the Children’s Internet Protection 10 Years Later.”  Policy Brief No. 5, June 2014. http://connect.ala.org/files/cipa_report.pdf  Web 23 Sept 2016.

[2] Lambda Legal. “Preventing Censorship of LGBT Information in Public Schools,” https://www.lambdalegal.org/sites/default/files/publications/downloads/fs_preventing-censorship-of-lgbt-information-in-pubilc-school-libraries_1.pdf Web.  21 Sept 2016.

The post Censors Near You first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

As we strive to serve every member of the community, especially our YA patrons, public librarians may be looking to learn a bit more about a particularly marginalized group, transgender youth. Transgender youth, defined as those who do not conform to prevalent gender norms, can be an overlooked segment of the LGBT community. As society becomes more accepting of LGBT issues, transgender youth are also increasingly more  comfortable being open about who they are. However, despite recent societal inroads, trans youth are at increased risk for being ostracized, as well as physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. Currently, 41 percent of trans people attempt suicide, according to the University of California Los Angeles, School of Law’s Williams Institute.¹

As these kids are increasingly claiming their right to define and express themselves in new ways, they may seek resources including—but not limited to—hormone treatment, gender reassignment surgery, name change, and cross-living. Whether they are seeking resources, or just a bathroom to change in, public libraries can be an excellent support network for this sidelined group. And though it might sound complicated, it’s as easy as learning about and understanding any other group within your community.

In an effort to shed a little light on the lives of trans young adults, I talked to Jennifer Leininger at the Gender & Sex Development Program at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Leininger’s extensive knowledge of the subject and experience in providing inclusivity training to local Chicago-area schools can help us make decisions when considering programming, collection development, and overall service to this YA
group.

Public Libraries (PL): Tell us a little bit about the Gender & Sex Development Program at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and what you do there.

Jennifer Leininger (JL): We are a multidisciplinary clinic. I’m the only non-clinician on the team. We have a mental health team with two psychologists and a psychiatrist as well as a medical team, endocrinologist, and pediatricians specializing in adolescent medicine. Of course everyone on the medical and mental health teams also specialize in supporting gender work. I manage the gender program and I do a lot of the community outreach, advocacy, and education, making sure that the folks in our program are supported not just from a medical and mental health perspective but also in their social settings and communities. We all work together to help foster a holistic approach, recognizing that just like every human is different, every person navigating their gender is also different and needs different things. So we accommodate that idea and provide the necessary support unique to their needs.

PL: Before we move ahead, let’s talk about terms. What are some of the terms, definitions, and concepts that readers should become familiar with?

JL: So, language is really powerful. Young people in particular, really tune into when language is used to be supportive and when language is used in a harmful way. So often what happens is folks aren’t familiar with what to say, and they may say something that seems unsupportive, and that can be really tricky to navigate.

I think it is important to distinguish between all of these things that make up who we are as unique individuals. So, as far as terms and concepts there is:

• Sex Assigned at Birth. So that’s body parts, internal and external genitalia, and chromosomes. It determines the birth-assigned sex and what gender we think someone might be.
• Gender Identity. Gender identity is someone’s deeply felt sense of self, which is not always the same as someone’s sex assigned at birth. Everyone has a gender identity of being male, female, something other, something in-between, but that again can be different from sex assigned at birth.
• Gender Expression. Then there is gender expression, which is individual characteristics of what we do that is perceived as more masculine or feminine. So that can be everything from clothing, appearance, play preference for younger kids, speech patterns, all kind of things. So that’s a little bit more like socially perceived as being male or female, masculine or feminine.
• Gender Nonconforming. Gender nonconforming is a term that I will probably use in the course of this interview. Related expressions include gender variant, gender expansive, and gender creative. Those all fall into the category of gender expressions that fall outside of society’s expectations of someone’s sex assigned at birth. And this is a little confusing as it may or may not impact someone’s gender identity. So it could be someone who is male sex-assigned at birth and identifies as male, but likes to express his femininity, so he identifies as a boy but likes to express his femininity. It could also be someone who is sex-assigned at birth as male but identifies as female and likes to express her femininity, so I think that is where it can be a little tricky. As far as gender nonconforming, it is a long-standing occurrence, so six months or more, [so] not someone who is a little boy who identifies as a boy but puts on a dress from the kindergarten dress-up day and wears it around all day. That’s adorable but not necessarily gender nonconforming. So someone—you know I don’t love the term “tomboy”—but that is the term that most people are familiar with and that would be a female who identifies as female but is expressing her masculinity, so that is a nonconforming female.
• Sexual Orientation. Sexual orientation is really different from gender identity. Sexual orientation is the gender to which folks are sexually and romantically attracted, so that really is external in terms of the other person, [rather] than gender identity, which is internal and how you feel. Part of talking about inclusion means having diverse representation of sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is definitely different from gender identity, and that is so important for folks to understand. You know when we are talking about gender, we are not talking about sex, we are actually just talking about how someone feels and is.
• Cisgender. Cisgender is a term used to describe folks whose gender identity is congruent or the same as their sex assigned at birth. So someone, who is born with a penis and identifies as male is a cisgender guy. Related, there is this wonderful team of lawyers that I work with on some policy work and one of them asked me, “Why do we need to include this term cisgender in the list of key terms?” My response is that it really helps us avoid saying things like non-transgender students or even on The Morning Shift [WBEZ Chicago, NPR Affiliate, a radio show Leininger recently appeared on²], the caller, I think, didn’t quite know what to say so she said “traditional” students. I’ve heard other folks say “normal students.” So instead of saying those things, the right term is cisgender, so now we are all empowered with that information.
• Transgender. And then transgender is an umbrella term, so basically it is a number of different gender identities that fall under the trans umbrella, but as individuals whose gender identity is different than sex assigned at birth. Trans means across, right? The big thing to remember is that it applies to identity so it does not really have anything to do with how someone looks or how someone behaves. And it certainly doesn’t have anything to do with someone’s body parts; I think that there is sort of a fixation with transgender people’s bodies, in a way that is really unsupportive. How do you know if someone is transgender? They tell you. It is not pathological, it can’t be diagnosed. I think that is also important for parents to know. It is not something that you can go to a therapist and they can say, “Oh your kid is transgender.” The other thing that is helpful to know is that transgender is an adjective, so it is not a noun or a verb. So, “she is a transgender” is incorrect. It is incorrect as a verb, so “that person is transgendered,” or saying a transgendered person is also incorrect. Correct would be saying something like a trans male, a transgender student, a trans person—any of those is certainly the right way to use it.

I think with any of these terms it is just important to remember to let people self-identify. But this is a helpful shared language to understand the experiences of the people we serve in libraries and in the community.

PL: On The Morning Shift program you talked about training that you are doing for Chicago-area schools on making the schools more inclusive for transgender youth. How did this come about and what is the goal of the training?

JL: We’ve been doing the training as part of the program for the past few years. Actually there has been a huge increase in requests for training, which is exciting, as folks are seeing this as an emerging diversity issue.

Basically I work with staff members to provide an understanding of gender diversity within a school framework, and to discuss best practices that support all students around gender diversity including but not limited to those who are transgender and gender nonconforming.

Depending on how much time we have [for training] we can really delve into scenarios. Language is certainly a part of that. I definitely take the opportunity to talk about why it is important to support gender diverse students and include gender diversity in language and curriculum just like with everything else, kind of try to thread it into the framework of the education process. So, that is sort of the goal.

PL: I believe this training was required in the schools after a touchy locker room issue?

JL: Locker rooms and bathrooms are definitely the issue that has been most contentious at this point, but certainly not the only issues that trans young people are navigating. Some trans young people have trouble getting a teacher to call them by a name that feels good and honors their gender identity. Some young people do not have their preferred name and pronoun in the student information system, so a substitute teacher might out them. That happens a lot.

They face bullying and harassment in locker rooms and bathrooms but certainly not only in those spaces. So part of the training is also understanding how this is not just about access to facilities. This does not begin and end with where we change and where we go to the bathroom.

It is about creating a space that reflects and celebrates gender identity and gender diversity, in the school culture, in the language we use, and in the ways that we interact with all students, including those who are trans and nonconforming. Recently, a colleague mentioned how violent it can feel for trans young people to feel that they are not reflected in any way in the curriculum or the language and I think that can be pretty devastating.

Something I always try to say at the beginning of trainings is that this is not a political training. The goal is not necessarily to get folks to change their beliefs because sometimes there are certain beliefs tied to gender and how folks feel people should identify, but these students are at increased risk for a number of different factors including dropout rates. So the goal is to make sure that all of the students get educated and at the end of the day here is what you need to do to make sure that happens and make sure that students feel supported. Regardless of how someone feels. So the goal isn’t necessarily to change hearts and minds but if that happens I’m fine with it.

PL: Transgender people face systemic exclusion and are often targets of misunderstanding and violence from individuals as well as institutions. How can public libraries and public library staff members best become allies to transgender youth?

JL: Well this is my favorite question, of course. So similar to schools, there is a lack of gender diversity representation in school curriculums and in libraries so a big part of combatting that is by having inclusive programming and books. Having books that feature gender diversity, LGB and T characters, and having them not just sit on the shelves but also [represented] in the activities.

Put it on a booklist, put it on a display that you are creating, because that is really demonstrating that the libraries and librarians are being proactive. So LGBT history month, the transgender day of remembrance, we can use that as we would any racial minority or religious minority group. Create a display around gender minority folks.

The more included they feel, the more engaged young people will be. Similar to schools, the goals is to keep folks engaged. That is a big part of libraries, too. If a transgender teen comes in and sees the book Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, that really shows them that… “Hey, this is a place for me, too.”

Including books and characters that are interrupting gender stereotypes is a big thing and that is liberating for everyone. It shows that there is not just one way to be male, female, or anything else. And showing different genders, different sexual orientations, different families, is important.

The other thing I did want to bring up—the bathroom issue is actually really significant at libraries. I knew that it was significant in all public spaces, but because libraries are such a commonly used public space, a lot of transgender teenagers will come into the library and maybe they are not supported at home. Someone who identifies as female but who has to have a masculine expression at home might come into the library to change. They might use the facility to change or they may be seeking resources. We don’t ask cisgender people to look a certain way when they use a bathroom so just remember that it is not very supportive to ask transgender people to look a certain way either.

I understand that there are safety issues that folks are concerned about, but we need to recognize that trans young people deserve to feel like the library is a space where they can feel supported and making sure that the bathrooms are a place where they can change or go to the bathroom just like everyone else, without fear of harassment or bullying. And it could sometimes be bullying by a staff member. Actually bullying by security guards, in this respect, is a big issue.

PL: This is a relatively new phenomenon and some persons may not yet have overcome their biases in regards to the transgendered. What are some resources for further information and how can a person who is uncomfortable with the idea of transgender best serve transgender youth?

JL: While society is more open to transgender people now, it is not really a new phenomenon. There are transgender people in history. There is a kids’ book about one of the fastest carriage drivers in the West, who was actually a transgender male, so his sex assigned at birth was female but no one knew that until he died. But lately there has been much more of a cultural awareness, which is really so exciting.

It is OK to feel uncomfortable. But recognize that everyone deserves to use the library and feel safe and supported in those spaces regardless of people’s own personal beliefs and biases. Sometimes it is a matter of looking internally and asking yourself, “How do I feel about this?” and “How will what I am thinking or doing be negatively reflected back to the patron?” It is just customer service, making sure that everyone is treated fairly and equitably in the public space, regardless of how you might feel about their gender identity or expression.

If you are not sure of someone’s pronoun, you can always ask. You can ask in a supportive way, like “Hey my name is ___ , I’m the librarian on duty today, I prefer she and her pronouns. Is there a name and pronoun that you would like me to use while we are working together today?” That can be a way to lead in without feeling uncomfortable.

Just like anything else, folks are entitled to feel whatever belief or bias they have, but part of their job is to create a space where everyone feels welcome and supported. So just remembering that. And I do think that knowledge is power. If there is something that makes you uncomfortable, maybe doing a little bit of digging and looking at some of these resources will help you understand better—regardless of how you might feel—
and also, it is important to make sure folks do not feel ostracized. You know they are already a marginalized population at risk for violence and harassment in schools and in any other public space, so how can we combat that regardless of how we feel? No one deserves to feel that kind of violence.

PL: Learning about transgender lives can break stereotypes and put a human face on issues that persons may not have encountered personally. Is there media available that can help put a human face on these issues?

JL: I Am Jazz is a reality show that follows a transgender teen. Transparent is a little bit more adult but might be a good opportunity to understand trans folks. There are also a lot of clips available online—some of them are good, some of them are not so good—but I think hearing directly from folks navigating these spaces as a transgender person can be really helpful. So it is not just hearing that two thirds of these people have faced violence and harassment for the first time in school; that is scary, but doesn’t mean anything really unless you put a face to it.

As far as Transparent, I work with children more than adults but obviously some folks have to wait to come out as their authentic gender until they are done with their careers, until a parent dies, or a child is out of the house, or for whatever reason.

If you are not sure of someone’s gender, one question also might be, “Do I need to know in order to help this person?” For example, if you are just directing them to where Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is, gender expression or identity doesn’t really matter. A smile goes a long way. Both children and older folks can tell when someone is uncomfortable around them. This group has been marginalized so they have to be hyper-aware for their safety, so when they are working with someone—a librarian or an educator, whoever they may be—and that person is demonstrating discomfort, that really sends the wrong message.

PL: Transgender youth may be struggling with a number of issues, from health to safety. What are some situations that may arise (or have arisen in the person’s life) and what is the best method for navigating or helping the transgendered person in those situations?

JL: There is a term, transphobia, and it basically is discrimination toward gender minorities. Gender is really deeply entrenched in our society, so folks that don’t conform to traditional binary ideas can face severe harassment and there are increased risks for violence and harassment. That can be everything from isolation, teasing, bullying, and gossip. I think there are few ways to approach those issues. Be proactive, show that the library is a safe and supportive environment through systemic work, make sure there is a diversity statement including gender identity, through policy work around bathrooms, and having those systems in place.

Be proactive and also be reactive. Recognize what transphobic language sounds like. Hearing things like transphobic slurs, or hearing someone who is being misgendered, can be hard if you do not have a relationship with the young person and don’t know their gender pronoun. Being misgendered [using a name and pronoun that doesn’t align with a person’s preferred gender identity] is a really common way that transphobia manifests itself.
So, again, I think being proactive systemically and reactive by stepping in if you hear someone using transphobic language. Interrupt gender stereotypes.

For example, there is no one way to be male, female, or any other gender so there is no such thing as a boy’s haircut or a girl’s haircut, clothes are clothes, shoes are shoes. Trying to interrupt that kind of language can be really helpful, but also educating staff, especially security guard staff and other support staff. This can make a really big impact on creating an inclusive and supportive environment for transgender folks.

PL: Pronouns seems like they might be an issue on occasion. What is the best way to salvage a situation in which an incorrect pronoun is used? Can you explain the idea of letting persons self-identify?

JL: This is an awesome, awesome question, because humans make mistakes. So if you use someone’s name or pronoun and it is not the one they prefer, like if you know someone as Katie and then they let you know that they prefer Mark and male pronouns. What I would not say is, “I always knew you as Katie and it is hard for me because you still look like Katie.” Because it is not supportive. It is putting it on the person and it is your mistake so make sure you own it.

So if you call someone sir and they actually prefer madam, say, “I’m so sorry, I did not mean to disrespect you and I will absolutely call you miss/she/her moving forward; we want to make sure you feel supported here.

The person might still be offended but just make sure you still own the mistake.

So if you accidentally call Mark Katie, say, “I know you prefer Mark. I’m so sorry that was my mistake. I’m going to do everything I can to remember to call you Mark in the future.” So, making sure you own it and that you don’t put it on the person. As far as letting folks self-identify, listen to the language that they are using and use neutral language. So if you’re talking to someone saying, “Where is the child’s dad?” You could say, “Where is
the child’s parent?” And maybe you don’t need to use gendered language. You can always use “they” and “them”—that is something that folks are becoming more comfortable with over time.

The Washington Post just came out with some guidelines around the use of they and them as single use pronouns.³ The American Dialect Society named “singular they” as the word of the year a few weeks ago, and there are some people who do identify as nonbinary and prefer “they” and “them” as their pronouns.⁴ Listening to the language that folks are using to describe themselves is a way that they can self-identify. We don’t always need to ask. If you think maybe a young person is transgender or gay, part of that is recognizing is this me being curious or do I need to know this information?

PL: What have you learned from your school-trainings?

JL: Most people, regardless of how they feel in terms of their comfort level, want students to feel safe and they want young people to feel supported. So regardless of how someone feels—and it is a huge range in districts that I’ve worked with—everyone wants students and young people to succeed. And that is a takeaway that, for me, has been really positive—giving folks the tools and the knowledge to support students and their success regardless
of how someone feels personally about transgender identity. I think that’s the big positive takeaway for me and not to get too cliché, but knowledge really is power.

PL: What might public libraries do to become more inclusive?

JL: Reflect gender identities and diverse families in materials and programming for sure—in addition to ensuring policies and systemic structures are in place and training. It is so great that folks are reading this interview, and this is a good nugget to introduce the idea of gender diversity to librarians, some of whom may not know that it existed or hadn’t thought too much about it.

Try to do training that is part of being proactive. You don’t know until you know, but once you know you can’t not know, if that makes sense. You can’t plead ignorance once you have this information and no one is teaching it as far as I know in any graduate programs. Whether it is education or library sciences, this is just a subject that is getting missed.

And so, doing some of your own research around trans folks and gender diversity and diversity in general will be very helpful, but also including that as part of staff trainings both for librarians and support staff. Because young people will be coming into contact with everyone.

References

1. The Williams Institute, “Suicide Attempts among Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Adults,” accessed Feb. 10, 2016.
2. National Public Radio, WBEZ Chicago, The Morning Shift, Jan. 21, 2016, accessed Feb. 10, 2016.
3. Bill Walsh, “The Post Drops the ‘Mike’—and the Hyphen in ‘E-mail,’” Washington Post, Dec. 4, 2015, accessed Feb. 10, 2016.
4. American Dialect Society, “2015 Word of the Year Is Singular ‘They,’” Jan. 8, 2016, accessed Feb. 10, 2016.

Resources

41 Transgender-Friendly Books for Young Kids

PFLAG Illinois Book & Movie Recommendations 2015

Growing Up Trans (Frontline/PBS)

I Am Jazz (TLC)

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Gender & Sex Development Program

Welcoming Schools, Actions You Can Take as a Librarian

Welcoming Schools, Books to Engage Students: Bibliographies

The post Knowledge Is Power: Serving Gender Diverse Youth in the Library first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

There are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer children and families in every service community in the country. While libraries all across the country serve queer people in various ways, most likely still rely on heterosexuality and cisgender as defaults. That is, the norms that govern straight people, normal families, and people whose gender expression matches their birth sex.

There are excellent resources for librarians who want to improve their services to LGBTQ patrons, and the American Library Association’s (ALA) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) collects, creates, and promotes professional resources, and, importantly, administers the Stonewall Book Awards and yearly booklists that share the most current materials. See those, and more, at ala.org/glbtrt. It is worth noting that the GLBTRT started as the Gay Task Force of ALA, and was the first gay or lesbian professional organization in the United States. I have also met many queer library workers—from library school to my current job; we really are everywhere. But in the fine tradition of providing neutral information, the ways even queer library workers interact with the public, in my experience, remain governed by heteronormative defaults. While our job is to find and present authoritative sources from multiple perspectives, I urge us to feel out the by-definition limits of operating within a larger system of authority that treats gender in a strict binary and defaults to homonormativity. For a deeper analysis of this from a cataloging perspective, see Emily Drabinski, K.R. Roberto, and Amber Billey’s “What’s Gender Got to Do With It? A Critique of RDA Rule 9.7” in Cataloging and Classification Quarterly from April 2014.

It is useful to start with the terminology itself. For me, queer is serving as an umbrella term for gay, lesbian, bisexual, or trans. It could also include other sexual minorities, such as asexuals or other people who are gender variant. But I’m also using it as a political term that embodies political resistance to heterosexist assumptions. This also means feminist, anti-racist, anti-classist, and so on.

Gender is social and cultural norms that govern our lives about masculinity and femininity, about what is masculine and feminine, about what is appropriate for men and women and girls and boys. And gendered, as I will use it here, means assigning gender characteristics to things like toys, books, themes, appearance, and behavior.

Sex means biological sex, referring to sex organs or chromosomes, and cis refers to someone who presents a gender identity that matches their birth/biological (or assigned) sex, i.e., not trans. Trans is short for transgender, which is someone who presents a gender identify that might not match their birth/biological sex, i.e., not cis. The term “transsexual” is now obsolete and any delineation between transsexual and transgender or transgendered is not worth distinction in this forum. Transgender or trans serves as a pretty good umbrella term.

Genderqueer is a complex term, better defined in this passage from the website GenderQueerId to offer the specificity needed:

both man and woman (example: androgyne); neither man nor woman (agender, neutrois, non-gendered); moving between two or more genders (gender fluid); third gendered or other-gendered (includes those who prefer “genderqueer” or “non-binary” to describe their gender without labeling it otherwise); = those who “queer” gender, in presentation or otherwise, who may or may not see themselves as non-binary or having a gender that is queer.¹

Genderqueer, as a term and as a method, allows librarians to consciously understand and act within our expertise and experience serving children and families. It also offers ameliorative solutions to the harm-gendered assumptions about reading, literacy, and library services. Children who are trans or gender variant are particular objects of bullying and discrimination, including many recent cases about the right of trans students to use the appropriate bathrooms and locker rooms. In a blog post called “Mama, Ella has a Penis,” Marlo Mack lists some bullet points that are useful for talking to kids about gender identity, including, “Some people feel like boys but they really like ‘girl stuff’” and “some people feel like girls but they really like ‘boy stuff.’”² This advice also includes obvious messages such as, no one needs to know or ask about your private parts. I recommend that people working with children read the post in its entirety for practical and hands-on language you can use with children and families. Trans people and trans kids falsely and reprehensibly remain a threat in the eyes of communities all over and have become targeted by what a congressional forum described as an “epidemic of violence.”³

If we are in this epidemic, and the high-profile suicides of young people like Tyler Clementi⁴ suggest that anti-queer bullying demonstrates serious harm, there is more that public libraries and librarians can do than have materials and resources available. They should be approaching a level of public service constructed to serve all patrons with dignity and respect, and one way to step up that game is for queer people is to start using queerness as a default mode. This can be a challenge for librarians who rely so much on authoritative structures of knowledge. As Marvin Taylor eloquently articulated in 1993, queerness represents a disruption of authority and is a deliberate confusion of the neat categories we use to understand the world.⁵ And genderqueerness is an additional dimension of ambiguity and plays in this disruption.

There are concrete steps any public library can take to minimize the confusing or distressing aspects of these ambiguities, while improving services to all patrons and visitors at the same time. One is making sure that their data collection instruments, especially library card applications, are designed in ways that erase barriers for people whose government-issued IDs might not match their physical characteristics or preferred names. In thinking about applying “queerness” as a default for library card registrations, it is possible to build in stronger bridges to access for formerly incarcerated people who might not have an ID, for homeless people who might not have an address, or for libraries where family accounts are linked—loosening up and broadening the constellation of relationships that a library considers family.

Another important part of the library card application is whether or not you ask for a form of address/salutation (Mr., Ms., Mx., etc.) at all, and if you do whether it is important to include options like Mrs. that designate a woman is married, or options like Mx. that are not gender marked. Could it be enough to have people write in their own, or do away with them altogether and always address library communications with “DEAR FIRSTNAME LASTNAME” in a mail merge? I think so. Many applications also ask for gender or sex. If yours does, you should add a preferred pronoun field, so staff can see if a patron has checked off “he, she, they, ze” or written in another option.

How does your library use this gender data? Do you plan outreach and marketing campaigns for men if women borrow more materials at a given branch? If 75 percent of your children’s circulation is from girls, do you double down and only buy “girl” materials to serve this community need, or is that an indication to buy “boy” materials? Would your collection development policy reflect which materials are appropriate for boys and which for girls? I propose that they would not and that most librarians selecting books would not limit themselves and their collections in these ways. I would argue, then, that there are not meaningful ways of using data that assigns gender categories, and offering only male and female as options can alienate and exclude queer and trans people.

It is worth mentioning that there is a library and educational industry around boys as reluctant readers, so there might be books in your collection such as Deborah B. Ford’s Scary, Gross, and Enlightening: Books for Boys Grades 3–12 (Libraries Unlimited, 2010), or you might swear by Jon Sciezska’s Guys Read website and campaign. These efforts presume that some boys are not achieving well in school because teachers and librarians (who are mostly women) are offering them books that are not interesting to them (because they are boys). I find this premise illogical and impracticable, in particular because I am queer: the things that were supposed to interest boys did not necessarily interest me, and the things that were supposed to interest girls sometimes did. Additionally, after years of working in children’s departments, I found over and over again that lots of different things interested lots of different kids. In my experience, it was the parents that sometimes asked for “boy books” or “girl books.” The premise that boys need special “boy” topics shortchanges librarians and the children themselves, and can alienate kids who are queer or genderqueer. See Scott’s “Deconstructing the ‘Books for Boys’ Discourse” for a scholarly analysis of this topic.⁶

Matching kids and books in a gender neutral way is a way to serve everyone better, as a default. Many of the children you serve might be trans or queer. Some of them could realize it already and perhaps even be ready to come out, and very likely many more are somewhere in a long process of self-identification, understanding, and acceptance. And even children who will end up being straight deserve a gender-neutral approach; some little boys are going to grow up and have long hair and paint their fingernails (and be straight!). Actively seeking out books with illustrations, stories, and themes that celebrate individuality and dignity in diversity, including books that do not rely on rigid gender roles, primes librarians to improve their services to kids of different sizes, abilities, ethnicities, classes, and other groups who are not defined by our culture’s version of “normal.” You probably already have these three titles in your collection that do just that: Helen Lester’s Tacky the Penguin, Leo Lionni’s A Color of His Own, and Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are. These improved services will also positively affect the adults in their lives.

Another place children’s librarians can take action is during songs, rhymes, and games in storytime. Change the pronouns in familiar songs (Old McDonald had a farm, and on her farm or and on their farm; Five little monkeys jumping on the bed . . . their parent called the doctor and the doctor said, or if “their parent” sounds too awkward, you can commit to constantly switching it up: momma and papa and daddy and baba and grandma and
mommy and auntie, etc.). Avoid asking children to divide (or dividing them) into groups of boys and girls, just as you might avoid asking them to divide into groups of fat and thin or tall and short.

Consider using “they” as an alternate pronoun to he or she. It is a way to neutralize the way you refer to someone whose gender you do not know or do
not recognize, which might help avoid misgendering someone. If someone tells you what their preferred name or preferred pronoun is, please use it. Do not assume that a child is there with their mommy, even if kids usually are. These suggestions are meant to be little, but impactful shifts that will make people feel more welcome and comfortable engaging at their library. A common theme of the narratives of trans people in the book Trans/Portraits: Voices from Transgender Communities is that they are constantly explaining themselves, and being asked or forced to explain their very existence.⁷ Imagine fielding questions and comments such as, “Why doesn’t your appearance match your photo ID?” “Why did you used to have a different name?” “You are in the wrong bathroom!” “You really look like a boy,” and so on every single day. Even if some of these comments are offered with good intentions, it is probably exhausting. So imagine the impact a library worker could have on someone’s day by assuming that that individual is normal or even default.

New buildings and renovated spaces should add family or gender-neutral bathrooms. Sandburg’s 2014 pamphlet available to download from the GLBTRT of ALA is a valuable resource in planning for gender neutral bathrooms, and for revising existing restroom policy to accommodate gender neutral bathrooms.⁸ There should be diaper changing tables in or available to every restroom, particularly the ones in and near the children’s area.

Libraries and librarians will experience pushback when they explicitly welcome trans and genderqueer people using these strategies. Laws in several states do or would prevent trans patrons from using their bathrooms of choice.⁹ Be ready with policies—both personnel policies and public policies—that explicitly let trans and genderqueer people use the restroom facilities they find most appropriate, in the same way you might use a
collection development policy to answer a complaint about a book. Many of the techniques outlined in this article will help you negotiate the stickier and more complicated aspects of serving all library users in a genderqueer or queer way. I encourage you to practice these techniques, practice the new language and words you might use to talk about these issues, and be honest about the ways in which they might make you, your public,
or your coworkers uncomfortable. But I challenge you to engage those feelings in a productive way, and to change those attitudes rather than relying on automatic discomfort or disgust to hide them away. We (and our siblings, children, parents, and friends) are everywhere, and we are relying on you to make sure we are welcomed and exceptionally served by public libraries.

References

1. Genderqueer Identities, “What is Genderqueer?” accessed Feb. 16, 2016.
2. Marlo Mack, “Mama, Ella Has a Penis,” blog post on Mutha Magazine, Jan. 2014, accessed Feb. 16, 2016.
3. Dawn Ennis, “Congressional Forum to Investigate ‘Epidemic of Violence’ Against Trans People,” Advocate.com, Nov. 13, 2015, accessed Feb. 16, 2016.
4. Kate Zernike, “Son’s Suicide Leads to Aid for Students,” New York Times, Feb. 1, 2013, accessed Feb. 16, 2016.
5. Marvin J. Taylor, “Queer Things from Old Closets: Libraries—Gay and Lesbian Studies—Queer Theory,” Rare Books & Manuscripts Librarianship 8, no. 1 (March 20, 1993): 19–34.
6. Denise Scott, “Deconstructing the ‘Books for Boys’ Discourse,” Progressive Librarian no.42 (Summer 2014).
7. Jackson Wright Shultz, Trans/Portraits: Voices from Transgender Communities (Hanover, N.H.: Dartmouth College Pr., 2015).
8. Jane Sandberg, “Gender-neutral Bathrooms in Libraries,” GLBTRT Resources Committee, Oct. 16, 2014, accessed Feb. 16, 2016.
9. Indianapolis Business Journal, “Indiana Bill Targets Transgender Bathroom Use,” Dec. 26, 2015, accessed Feb. 16, 2016; Katy Steinmetz, “States Battle Over Bathroom Access for Transgender People,” Time, Mar. 6, 2015, accessed Feb. 16, 2016; Cleis Abeni, “Mo. Trans Student’s Bathroom Struggle Is History Repeating Itself,” Advocate .com, Sept. 2, 2015, accessed Feb. 16, 2016.

The post FEATURE|Serving All Library Families in a Queer and Genderqueer Way first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

The teenage years are not easy for anyone, but for many LGBT teens, the struggle to understand themselves and find acceptance from their peers and community can be even more difficult. The public library can be a wonderful resource for LGBT teens looking for answers or for those just needing a safe, welcoming space to gather with friends. If you want to begin to make a connection with your LGBT teen patrons, there are a few easy steps you can take to get started improving service to this often underserved community.

One of the easiest ways that librarians can help improve their service to LGBT teens is by becoming familiar with some basic terminology. People often mistakenly use inappropriate or out­dated words that can offend or hurt, even when it is unintentional. Suzanne Walker, Professional Development Office Supervisor at the Indiana State Library, offers a training session on serving LGBT youth for librarians throughout the state. She says that it is especially important for librarians to understand the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation and recommends the terminology guide from UCLA to help clarify words that you are unclear about. She states that “There are an endless number of ways for a human to be a human and it’s important for librarians to remember that we serve all of them.”

Another way libraries can help reach the LGBT patrons is by having a collection that includes both informational and recreational materials that represent the diversity of the community. The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (GLBT) Round Table of the American Library Association is a great place to get some guidance on how to help build a balanced collection.

The GLBT Round table creates the Rainbow List and also sponsors the Stonewall Book Awards, which honor books for youth that have exceptional merit relating to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender experience.

However, the best way to find out what your LGBT teens need from your library is to ask them! If you are not sure who the LGBT teens are in your library, this might mean going outside of your library walls for help. Many high schools and most colleges have a Gay Straight Alliance group that can help answer questions you may have about serving LGBT youth.

There may be occasions where a LGBT teen comes to you in a crisis situation. LGBT teens are more likely to experience violence than their heterosexual and cisgender peers and have higher rates of suicide and homelessness. Many also lack a good support network. “It’s important for librarians to remember that we don’t have to have the answer for every question that crosses our desks, but we do have to know where to find that answer. Make sure your librarians know what resources are available to your teens and tell them about those resources through signs in the restrooms, programs, word­of­mouth, or brochures.” explains Walker. If your library isn’t already, consider becoming a registered Safe Place, a national youth outreach and prevention program that helps connect teens with the resources that they need in their communities.

Finally, it is also important not only to have the knowledge and resources but to also celebrate the LGBT community. Many libraries have LGBT resources but shy away from putting them on display or highlighting them on the library’s website. If you have LGBT resources available but they are difficult to find, think about what message this is sending to your LGBT teens. Not sure where to begin? Why not try something for Teen Read Week, October 18-­24!

References

1. http://www.ala.org/PrinterTemplate.cfm?Section=Available_PIO_Materials&Template=/ContentManagement/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=11968. Accessed 9/18/15.

The post Serving Your LGBT Teen Patrons first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Bullying is of no surprise to most of us any longer, as the topic has been featured in the media regularly.. In these days when youth are bullied so harshly for any perceived differences, there are steps we must take to ensure that no harm will come to them inside the sanctuary that is the public library. This is especially important with LGBT youth, who are often targeted by both adults and other youth.

We are not therapists, counselors, or social workers, but many librarians find themselves becoming well acquainted with their frequent patrons. If you see a patron, especially a young one, who is being taunted or abused for any reason, you can offer them a place in the library. There should always be someone present with the power to remove any abusive patrons. Even the smallest gestures toward those being abused can make the biggest difference. If you’re unsure what to do, groups like GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) offer packets on ways to ensure that your library is a safe space, complete with stickers and pamphlets.

Growing up I was luckily never taunted or teased, but the library gave me a special place to go where I could find books about “people like me.” There I was assured that I was not a freak. I could read Annie On My Mind or Rubyfruit Jungle without so much as a blink of the eye from anyone around. It was wonderful to have somewhere to go where I could see familiar faces that wouldn’t judge me and even see people like myself. In a society where we can be ostracized from our own families or abused by strangers simply for who we love, it is important to create and maintain a haven to which people of all kinds may flock.

Now that I work in a library and carry some power, I feel it is my duty to offer the same safety that was offered to me many years ago. I wear a rainbow Mickey Mouse pin on my work lanyard so as to subtly inform people, “I’m like you,” and so far it’s worked. I smile at kids when they come in and make sure to speak up when I hear people using hateful epithets. No one, especially children, deserves to be attacked with malicious words. Sticks and stones may break bones, but no matter what anyone says, names can still be hurtful. With a little bit of effort, we can make sure that no harm ever befalls a child inside the walls of a library.

The post Make Your Library A Safe Space first appeared on Public Libraries Online.