MacKenzie Ledley and Patricia Ringen of Pulaski County Public Library (Indiana) presented at the PLA Conference on LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered & Questioning) Services for Rural Libraries.  This was an extremely eye opening program that I knew I had to share with the SALS member libraries.

After a group of local teens asked Ledley if they could have their Gay Straight Alliance meetings at the library because the school would not allow them to meet on school grounds, she began to wonder if there was a need for LGBTQ materials in the library’s collection.  Ledley shared stories of how well received the new LGBTQ materials were received by patrons who were afraid to come out in their rural community, as well as the resistance she received from a few members of her board and community.   Fortunately, the library’s meeting room and collection policies backed both her decision to allow the teens to meet and for the somewhat controversial items to remain in the collection.  Continue reading→