New Journal Article: “Provide the Highest Level of Service”: Public Library Collections of LGBTQ* Materials for Adolescents in the United States”

The following published article appears in The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults (a YALSA publication).
Title
Provide the Highest Level of Service: Public Library Collections of LGBTQ* Materials for Adolescents in the United States
Authors
Beth Brendler
University of Missouri
Lindsay Beckman
Brentwood Public Library, MO
Denice Adkins
University of Missouri
Heather Moulaison Sandy
University of Missouri
Natalia Wiggins-Prelas
University of Missouri
Vanessa Adams
Independence County Library, Batesville, AR
Source
The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults
Volume 8, No.1: July 2017
Abstract

With the growing youth LGBTQ* population comes the need for representation of those communities in library collections. To determine how well LGBTQ* populations were represented in library collections for young people, the authors reviewed the catalog holdings of 24 libraries across the country and serving various population sizes using a checklist of 80 LGBTQ* titles. The results were nuanced. Libraries serving populations greater than 300,000 held the most titles on the list; however, libraries serving populations fewer than 20,000 had the largest ratio of copies per population of the books. Libraries in the South-Central region had the fewest copies of these books overall. Libraries in the Northeast held the greatest number of titles on the checklist. The Northwest region held the most eBooks, audiobook CDs, and downloadable audiobooks, but the Northeast region held the most print copies of the books on the list.

Direct to Full Text Article
32 pages; PDF. 

Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries