Importance of LGBTQ Reosurce Libraries

Cassidy Savoia-Snider

INFO 266-10

May 12^th, 2024

 

Citation:

Hays, A. (2020). A Question of Space: Surveying Student Usage of LGBTQ Resources in the LGBTQ Student Center Library and the Campus Library. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 26(1), 110–132. https://doi-org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/10.1080/13614533.2018.1564336

Summary: 

This article examines how LGBTQ+ students utilize the resource library in a college campus culture center. They compared this data with those collected from students who utilized the collection from the main campus library. The authors are looking at whether LGBTQ+ Students needs are better met based on where the collection is located (main library versus resource center)

Evaluation:

According to the article, more college campuses are creating cultural centers for students to fulfill various needs, including academic, cultural, and social support (Hays, 2020). Research by Hays (2020) mentions that over 90% of the cultural centers built on college campuses provide some type of cultural programming, including allyship training and diversity awareness. A survey conducted on college cultural centers in 2011 found that 80% of these spaces feel they don’t have enough resources to support student’s needs (Hays, 2020). This research supports the idea that there is a need for diverse and equitable information and resources by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. These communities have information needs around topics like self-acceptance, discrimination in the workplace, legal processes like name changes, information on transgender issues, and much more (Hays, 2020). 

Academic and public libraries are accountable for meeting patrons’ information needs. An essential part of the role of librarian professions is to examine the needs of their community and create collections and programs to meet these needs. Hay's (2020) article mentions that LGBTQ+ folks need to be able to easily access resources and information outside of LGBTQ+-specific spaces. Library resource centers on campus are essential, but students would benefit from having access to these materials within the library’s primary collection as well (Hays, 2020). There are many benefits of increasing the visibility of these books and materials by including them in the library's primary collection, and it is vital to meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ folks (Hays, 2020).  Their research found that students who utilize the LGBTQ+ resources in the resource library do so for personal identity-based reasons, not academic ones. They also found that the resource library is utilized for all other reasons besides academic (entertainment, identity exploration, emotional support, etc.). On the other hand, the main library’s collection is utilized primarily for academic reasons. For this reason, the authors take the stance that resource libraries should continue to develop their collections based on their student's needs and provide safe spaces for students.