Week 14 Prompt
No. The library should not separate out LGBTQ fiction and Urban fiction from the general collection. This would promote segregation and reduce patrons’ ability to browse the collection. Like the prompt says. We do not want to “other” these works.
There are reasons to separate out particular works. For
example, my library has a World Languages collection. So, all our books written
in Arabic are on a particular shelf. That is not what we are talking about
here.
Yorio and Ishizuka (2018) said “Young people need to see
themselves in books” (para. 1). If we are separating out LGBTQ, then we are
forcing patrons to identify themselves when they travel to the segregated
sections or shelves of the library.
I was shocked to learn that “Eight percent of libraries
shelve at least some books with diverse content separately from other
collections” (Yorio and Ishizuka, 2018, para 3). However, when I thought more
about the fact that some public school libraries are under extreme duress to
even continue operating due to parenting groups, I guess I understand that
statistic. Additionally, there are school projects where students are assisted
by having all the books on one subject in one place.
“The othering creates a problem” (Yorio and Ishizuka, 2018,
para 7). It makes patrons feel like they do not belong. The best way to get
patrons reading about all different things is to include diverse books everywhere
in the collection. “Concerns about students not wanting to be seen going to the
special section, being judged, or revealing something about themselves they
aren’t ready to, can keep a librarian from separating books with certain
characters and themes” (Yorio and Ishizuka, 2018, para 18).
Of course, we will do an LGBTQ display of books in June each
year, but we are not splitting these books out full time.
There is also that question about where to draw the line. If
we separate out all books about urban African America characters, should we
also separate out all books by African American authors? It would not be good
in the first place, but it could get out of hand fast. Also, think of all the
books that have at least one gay character. You would have to put more than
half of newly written books in a “diverse” section.
References
Yorio, K. & Ishizuka, K. (2018). Shelving debate: To
separate or integrate? School Library
Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/shelving-debate-separate-or-integrate
We are of the same opinion to incorporate LGBTQ and Urban genres within the main collection, but you bring up some great statistics to back up your assertions (I went on gut/personal/professional opinions). I especially appreciate the quote about patrons needing "to see themselves" in books; we want that connection for all patrons, but at the same time, we do not want to make anyone feel separate by "telling" them they have to "go over there" (to a different section of the library) to find books they're looking for and/or connect to!
ReplyDeleteYour point about where to draw the line, if separating the genres is the choice made, is so crucial!! At that point, it would become so subjective, not just from a library-to-library stance, but from an employee-to-employee perspective, that any form of standardization within an area's library system would be a nigh-impossible task.
Hi Jackie - I took thought it's great that you brought up about where a potential line would be drawn when moving collections. It becomes a slippery slope that we currently see happening with school libraries having to vet all these books that mention sexual content and violence etc. In my opinion, it all comes down to a form of censorship if the library is creating specific sections to separate books based on race and sexuality/gender.
ReplyDeleteAhh I love to hate this kind of topic. Because I completely agree with you, but also have some point of disagreements. I took the stance of community/patron driven demand. My own library has a separate urban fiction collection because patrons want it that way. We regularly have people ask for this section specifically because they want these stories, the same way the ask for mysteries or science fiction/fantasy, which also have their own call numbers. Now, some of that might be the whole chicken & the egg concept, but I'm of the mind that this kind of thing should be asked of the library's patrons regularly to see if it's something they actually desire. I think the trickiness is when Black authors who are not writing urban fiction get placed in this section. That's when I'm all for just getting rid of genre labels entirely.
ReplyDeleteI also can't believe that 8% of libraries separate these genres. When it comes to public school libraries I hate that they have had so much stress and hardship about carrying these books. In our library the only books we separate are one's about particularly hard topics like death, racism, and terminal illnesses. We do this so that parents can be warned that their children may have questions or discussions they may or may not be ready for.
ReplyDeleteI am pro separating the books. I just thought it would make it easier for patrons to search for what they want. In my opinion, it would save them a lot of time.
ReplyDeleteI agree that that might work in certain communities. In my community, libraries are targeted for "pushing an agenda", so it is a little different. We just had a FOIA on Friday from a group that specifically targets libraries offering anything having to do with drag queens.
DeleteI like the point you made about how "othering" makes some patrons feel like they don't belong. I talked about this a little as well, in addition to the desire to protect patron privacies. But that's a really good point. I know when I was a baby gay, the idea of asking for LGBTQ books anywhere scared the heck out of me. I can't imagine how I would feel walking into a library where they were segregated.
ReplyDeleteThe questions you pose at the end of your response are incredibly important to consider, especially with so many libraries facing book challenges and being asked to reorganize their entire collections because of content deemed "sexually explicit" and "inappropriate" by censorship groups.
ReplyDeleteYou generated some excellent discussion in the comments! Great response!
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