We Could Do Better

Although the LGBTQ community, from all appearances, maintains a strong connection to libraries as safe spaces, it is unclear whether the libraries themselves are providing relevant resources and services to the community. In addition, LIS research on LGBTQ patrons has centered on collection development how-tos and high level, broad suggestions without evaluating the actual state of the libraries' resources and services to these patrons. And even in the research that has considered small or rural libraries, none have focused on the rural and small town Southern U.S., which data has shown is the most inhospitable of regions in the U.S. for LGBTQ individuals. The purpose of this research was to explore the status of LGBTQ collections, particularly young adult collections, in rural and small libraries in Alabama and determine whether the librarians and staff in charge of these collections have an accurate view of what exists there. In addition, the research sought to discover whether there are active efforts to maintain and/or improve these collections and provide services to the LGBTQ community. In this project, I used two qualitative methods: content analysis of library catalogs and interviews. Seventy-seven library catalogs of small and rural libraries in Alabama were examined, and five librarians from this set of libraries were interviewed. I used open coding to analyze the interviews and used this in concert with the catalog data to build a picture of what the actual state of small and rural libraries in Alabama is. In the analysis, I found that the libraries, while they did have varying sizes of collections do contain some LGBTQ resources though the use of subject headings is inaccurate and vague in many cases. In addition, through the interview analysis, I found that what primarily affected what the libraries had on their shelves was an actively engaged librarian dedicated to proper collection development practices. This was exploratory research designed to create a foundation for future inquiry into the state of small and rural libraries in the U.S. South, something which has not been fully explored in LIS literature. Future research will be needed to better determine motivations and best practices for the larger group.