Abstract
Libraries are often seen as safe places for all people in a community. Libraries draw in diverse members of the community who all feel generally safe in the public space (Leckie and Hopkins, 2002, p. 353). Libraries often strive to be places of “no judgment” where all are treated equally and can have their information needs met in an unbiased fashion (American Library Association, 2006). There are also initiatives in many libraries to serve various marginalized groups in a community, such as immigrants (Shen, 2013), those with disabilities (Ross and Atkin, 2002), and the homeless (Ayers, 2006). Though civil rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning or Queer and *other individuals (LGBTQ*, Chapman and Birdi, 2016, p 2) people have advanced greatly in the last 20 years, they are still often marginalized in many communities (Kite and Bryant-Lees, 2016, p. 166). The inclusion of information and reading material for this group is of great importance in public libraries. This is because, in some communities, LGBTQ* individuals may otherwise have very little access to these materials. This study will attempt to look at the public libraries in Alabama with focus on their service to the LGBTQ* community through an assessment of LGBTQ* challenged books available in each library.
Publication Date
7-2-2017