Research Librarian University of Tennessee - knoxville
For many LGBTQ+ people reading is important to their identity formation; seeing themselves represented in books allows them to imagine a future. For others it can provide an escape from anti-queer hostility. This poster outlines the results of a quantitative and qualitative survey of LGBTQ+ readers in East Tennessee. The results describe access (and lack thereof) of LGBTQ+ books in school, public, and academic libraries in the Knoxville metropolitan area and how that impacts the local queer community. This poster also provides a snapshot of the reading habits of LGBTQ+ people such as preferred genres, subjects, and formats. Lastly, this poster will discuss queer patrons’ perceptions of librarian approachability, as well as patrons' assumptions about librarians' knowledge of queer materials. With the continued targeting of LGBTQ+ books and laws restricting the rights of queer people, this poster discusses challenges and opportunities that librarians in all settings will encounter and poses ideas for how to best support the queer and trans community.
