Queer Library Alliance

Number seven in the Litwin Books Series on Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies, Emily Drabinski, Series Editor

Queer identities are complex. They are embedded in a web of intersectionality and often challenging to fully define. Sometimes queerness shines like a beacon and this radiance is captured in media. Sometimes it is more subtle. Often it is invisible. Promoting understanding and visibility are primary goals of this anthology. As library professionals that create, utilize, and make accessible systems of organization and classification for information, intersectionality must remain a clear objective in addressing these historical absences. These topics represent some of our efforts to respond to challenges, address critical needs, and serve as essential forces against systematic oppression across service areas, library types, and borders. The first section of this collection of essays looks at how we are developing understanding and library services that reflect and are responsive to LGBTQ user needs. The second emphasizes opportunities and approaches for augmenting queer professional practice, which ultimately benefits our diverse library users. Contributors hail from, reside in, and study issues from several countries around the world including Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, England, India, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S.A. With many areas of the world not represented in this text, we recognize biases inherent in our perspectives. As librarians, archivists, and other information professionals committed to facilitating access and high-quality services for LGBTQ- and other marginalized users, it is important to stress that this is just one step in a larger process. There is still much more to consider and do as we continue to advocate for equity in library services to all.

Rae-Anne Montague is Director of Outreach Programs at Hawaiʻi Pacific University and affiliate faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library and Information Science Program. Her interests include community engagement, inquiry, and social justice. She has developed and provided leadership for several LIS initiatives including WISE (Web-based Information Science Education) and LAMP (LIS Access Midwest Program). She is currently working with E Noelo I Ka ‘Ike (To Search for Knowledge), a project designed to increase awareness and understanding of Hawaiian resource materials.

Lucas McKeever is the Head of Technical Services at Elmwood Park Public Library near Chicago, Illinois. Since 2013, he has been an active coordinator of the LGBTQ Users Special Interest Group of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). Additionally, he has served on the Rainbow Book List Committee of the GLBT Round Table of the American Library Association and has been named an American Library Association Emerging Leader. Previously, Lucas was the director of the Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, an organization committed to documenting and preserving facets of LGBTQ life in the Midwestern United States.