Report: “Southern Utah Library Workers Told to Remove Buttons, Displays Featuring LGBTQ-Themed Materials”
UPDATED August 13, 2018
Equality Utah Organizes Forum Following County Libraries Banning ‘Controversial’ LGBTQ-Themed Displays (via St. George News)
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From The Spectrum (St.George, Utah):
Library workers in Southern Utah were told last June to remove Pride Month-themed displays featuring LGBTQ books and materials because a county official believed they were too controversial. This year, they were asked to stop wearing buttons that said, “Ask me about LGBTQ reads.”
Both the displays and the buttons at the Hurricane library drew complaints from upset patrons, according to Joel Tucker, the Washington County director in charge of eight library branches.
However, the employees who placed the displays and wore the buttons said they never received any complaints. They said their county higher-ups are being discriminatory and point to similar library displays built around news topics, popular culture and holidays. They have included Saint Patrick’s Day, polygamy and Black History Month. Pioneer-themed displays were up this week for the state’s July 24 holiday.
Read the Complete Article (approx. 1200 words)
See Also: Washington County (Utah) Library System Website
Filed under: Libraries, News, Patrons and Users
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.
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