Serving Transgender Patrons in Academic Libraries

The Future Voices in Public Services column is a forum for graduate students in library and information science programs to discuss key issues in academic library public services, to envision what they feel librarians in public service have to offer to academia, to tell us their visions for the profession, or to share research being conducted in library schools. We hope to provide fresh perspectives from those entering our field, in both the United States and other countries. Interested faculty of graduate library and information science programs, who would like their students’ ideas represented in these pages, are invited to contact Miriam L. Matteson. Stephen Krueger received a Master of Science in Library Science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science in May 2017. In this essay, he explores library service to transgender patrons looking first at relevant federal legislation and library policies that support services and then discussing steps library staff can take to provide meaningful support for transgender patrons

Intro to OER for Library Employees

Open educational resources (OER) are materials, such as open textbooks, that are free for anyone to use and share. This session will provide library employees with basic information about OER from a library perspective. Attendees will learn what makes a resource open access, how OER can help students and faculty, and where to find open textbooks and other OER

Efficient Deselection and Other Stories: A Fellowship at UNC Charlotte

This paper will describe the collection development project done by a summer fellow at the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The project took place over the summer of 2016. The fellow worked with the health sciences librarian and the collection development librarian to assess the health sciences resources held by the library. Elements included compiling acquisition recommendations, surveying faculty and other health sciences librarians, drafting a collection development policy, and recommending titles for deselection. The deselection section also served as a pilot for a larger library-wide project

Supporting Students with Open Textbooks

Have you ever considered adopting an open textbook for your course? If you are concerned about your students\u27 access to their assigned textbook or if you are interested in exploring what open textbooks exist in your field, this session is for you. You\u27ll learn how to find and use free, high quality, digital textbooks

Trans Health and Information Access

Trans people experience myriad barriers to appropriate healthcare; one of these is simple access to information. Where can providers and patients find reliable, up-to-date, freely available information on their transition and other healthcare issues? Stephen Krueger (Scholarly Publishing Librarian) and Elaina Vitale (Research & Education Librarian) will discuss these issues in the context of open access information

Assessing Textbook Costs at a Small College

In recent years, the cost of textbooks has risen drastically, making it an important issue for everyone involved in higher education. Accurate and specific information on the cost of textbooks is needed to effectively address the situation. Over the summer of 2018, a librarian and an undergraduate student at a small liberal arts college assessed the textbook costs at their institution, using methodology developed by community colleges doing similar research. Based on course catalogs, bookstore records, and other resources, they calculated the costs for students in different disciplines over four years of study. These costs were impacted by major, courses chosen, and where materials were purchased. Patterns included higher prices in the sciences than in the humanities, as well as more expensive textbooks at the college bookstore than at other sources. Estimated total textbook costs varied widely (from under $100 to over$7,000 for four years of study), leading the researchers to conclude that no single average was representative of any one student’s experience

Decistifying Trans and Gender Diverse Inclusion in Library Work: A Literature Review

This comprehensive review illuminates the current state of scholarly literature on trans and gender diverse inclusion in libraries, with the intention to provide a foundation and identify gaps for further research. Covering 50 works published between 2002 and 2023 in the areas of general inclusion, public libraries, academic libraries, experiences of library workers, archives, information behavior, and cataloging, we found that, with the exception of works on archives and cataloging, little scholarly literature goes beyond introductory talking points on basic information about trans and gender diverse people. We conclude with a call for much more in-depth research on this essential topic

Introduction

In the library profession, and in the world as a whole, the experiences of trans and gender diverse people often go unnoticed, hidden, and ignored. But we are here. Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries is entirely written and edited by trans and gender diverse people involved in the field: its fifty-seven authors include workers from academic and public libraries, special collections and archives, and more; LIS students; and a few people who have left the library profession completely. This book is not intended to be the definitive guide to trans and gender diverse experiences in libraries, but instead to start the conversation. It is our hope that this book will help trans and gender diverse people in libraries realize that they are not alone, and that their experiences are worth sharing. This book also demonstrates some of the reality in a field that loves to think of itself as inclusive. From physical spaces to policies to interpersonal ignorance and bigotry, the experiences recounted in this book demonstrate that the library profession continues to fail its trans and gender diverse members over and over again. You cannot read these chapters and claim that Safe Zone stickers and “libraries are for everyone” signs have done the job. You cannot assume that everything is fine in your workplace because nobody has spoken out. You can no longer pretend that we don’t exist

Introduction to Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries

In the library profession, and in the world as a whole, the experiences of trans and gender diverse people often go unnoticed, hidden, and ignored. But we are here. Trans and Gender Diverse Voices in Libraries is entirely written and edited by trans and gender diverse people involved in the field: its fifty-seven authors include workers from academic and public libraries, special collections and archives, and more; LIS students; and a few people who have left the library profession completely. This book is not intended to be the definitive guide to trans and gender diverse experiences in libraries, but instead to start the conversation. It is our hope that this book will help trans and gender diverse people in libraries realize that they are not alone, and that their experiences are worth sharing. This book also demonstrates some of the reality in a field that loves to think of itself as inclusive. From physical spaces to policies to interpersonal ignorance and bigotry, the experiences recounted in this book demonstrate that the library profession continues to fail its trans and gender diverse members over and over again. You cannot read these chapters and claim that Safe Zone stickers and “libraries are for everyone” signs have done the job. You cannot assume that everything is fine in your workplace because nobody has spoken out. You can no longer pretend that we don’t exist

What It Means to Be Out: Queer, Trans, and Gender Nonconforming Identities in Library Work

Queer library workers face the decision of how and when to express their gender identities and sexual orientations at work. In what ways does being “out” in the library workplace impact our work? This coauthored chapter brings together the perspectives of two academic librarians, a current LIS grad student, and an academic library administrator to provide multiple ways of seeing the complexities of expressing gender identity and sexual orientation in the library workplace. We discuss the intersection of library values, politics, change management, patron interactions, and work environments