Young Adult Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Non-Fiction Collections and Countywide Anti-Discrimination Policies
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: This study examines news articles and anti-discrimination ordinances that affect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) communities in the four most populous counties from five Southeastern states: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The possible impact of such policies on the collection of non-fiction young adult materials in the public libraries in those counties is explored. The holdings of each county are compared to a list of 23 titles compiled from literary award winners selected from the time period 1996-2003 using the Lambda Literary Foundation Awards, the American Library Association Stonewall Awards, and an American Library Association GLBT Roundtable Bibliography. Findings suggest that there is no relationship between anti-discrimination ordinances and the level of collecting LGBTQ material. The evidence shows that the more demographically diverse counties made more LGBTQ titles available to their constituents. More studies investigating the impact of demographics on collection development would be helpful.
Source: Urban Library Journal
DOI: 10.31641/ulj170104
Author: Kynita Stringer-Stanback
Institution: University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Language: English
Subfield: Library and Information Sciences
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W1483346831