In this case study, I discussed why LGBTIQ collections are important and gave a
background on LGBTIQ people and their needs. I also gave a brief history of UNC and
the LGBTQ Center. I then detailed the work I did at the LGBTQ Center’s Resource
Library, which primarily included inventorying and cataloging the collection. Next I
detailed the results of the reorganization process; pointed out limitations faced in this
case study; and gave recommendations to other institutions’ LGBTIQ groups,
organizations, offices, and centers looking to increase the visibility of their collections.
After the reorganization project was started, I began to see positive reactions.
People seemed excited about the project, checkouts went up, and renewals were
occurring at a rapid rate. However, more time, formal data collection methods, and
iterative testing would be necessary to document significant changes and/or shifting user
needs along the way.
By conducting and writing the results of this case study, I hoped to contribute to
the literature on how organizations which offer LGBTIQ library materials on college and
university campuses develop and promote their collections. In particular, I hoped to
create a template or set of methods LGBTIQ-focused university organizations, centers,
and offices can employ to build representative collections and offer visibility for their
existing resource library. It is my hope that future research will expand and improve
upon the methods detailed in this study, leading to a robust body of knowledge to which
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Appendix A
Glossary of Relevant Terms8
Allies – Heterosexual, cisgender people who are supportive of and active in the LGBTIQ community.
Bisexual – Describes a person who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to men and women.
Cisgender – Describes someone who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth. For example, a cisgender woman would be a person designated female at birth who identifies with a female gender identity.
Coming Out – Also called “coming out of the closet,” this is the process by which LGBTIQ-identified people disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to themselves and others.
Disclosure Anxiety – The fear that checking out or requesting LGBTIQ-related titles will disclose one’s sexual orientation or gender identity to library staff members.
Gay – Describes a man who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to men.
8 Definitions adapted from the following sources: Greenblatt, E. (2005). Exploring LGBTQ Online Resources. Journal of Library Administration, 43(3), 85-101; Schaller, S. (2011). Information Needs of LGBTQ College Students. Libri, 61(2), 100-115; Oxford University Press. (2014). Cisgender - Oxford Dictionary (American English). Retrieved from
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/cisgender; American Psychological Association. (2008). Answers to Your Questions For a Better Understanding of Sexual Orientation & Homosexuality. Washington, D.C.: Author. Retrieved from www.apa.org/topics/sorientation.pdf;
American Psychological Association. (2011). Answers to Your Questions About Transgender People, Gender Identity and Gender Expression Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/topics/lgbt/transgender.aspx;
Procter, N., Hamer, H., McGarry, D., Wilson, R., & Froggatt, T. (2013). Mental Health: A Person-centred Approach Cambridge University Press; Weiss, J. T. (2008). Heteronormativity. In W. A. J. Darity (Ed.),
International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed.); Wikipedia. (2014). Queer. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer; Wikipedia. (2014). Coming out. Retrieved from
Gender Identity – A person’s internal sense of their gender. This can be a broad range of identities, not only male and female. See transgender for a more comprehensive list of other identities.
Gender & Sexual Diversity (GSD) – An attempt to encompass the spectrum of gender identities and sexual orientations under one term without using an acronym that may leave out segments of the population (LGBT, LGBTQ, LGBTIQ, LGBTQIA, etc.). Heteronormativity – The belief in: the inherent “rightness” of heterosexual preferences, a rigid male/female dichotomy, and the idea that these qualities deserve to be dominant in society.
Heterosexual – Describes a person who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to individuals of the opposite gender.
Homophobia – Fear or hatred of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. It sometimes more broadly applied to the rest of the LGBTIQ population.
Homosexual – Describes a person who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to individuals of the same gender. This term refers to gays and lesbians.
Intersex – Describes a person whose reproductive and sexual anatomy do not fit the classical definitions of male or female.
Lesbian – Describes a woman who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to women. LGBTIQ – Acronym used in this paper to acknowledge the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer/questioning community. This is a mostly-encompassing term, chosen because it is the most-inclusive acronym with literary warrant in the library literature. The term unfortunately leaves out asexuals (people who do not experience sexual and/or romantic attraction) and allies, but the researcher chose to go with LGBTIQ because it carried precedence in the literature.
Queer – Generally describes individuals who are not heterosexual or cisgender.
Stemming from the original definition of “queer,” or to be strange or peculiar, this word carries a negative connotation when used by heterosexual/cisgender people, but in recent years has been re-appropriated and used in a positive manner by the LGBTIQ community as a deliberately ambiguous term for anyone who is sexually and/or gender diverse. Questioning – Describes a person who may be questioning their gender identity and/or sexual orientation.
Sexual Orientation – A lasting pattern of sexual and/or romantic attractions to members of (a) certain gender(s). This can range from gay and lesbian to bisexual, skoliosexual (a person attracted to non-binary people, or those who identify outside the male/female binary), or even pansexual (a person attracted to all genders).
Transgender – Describes a person who identifies with a gender different than, or in addition to, the gender they were assigned at birth, either part or all of the time.
“Transgender” is an umbrella term for all non-cisgender identities including, but not limited to: MtF/trans woman (a female who was designated male at birth), FtM/trans man (a male who was designated female at birth), transsexual (a person who has undergone sex reassignment surgery to align their outer features with their inner identity), non- binary (a person who identifies outside the male/female binary), genderfluid (a person whose gender identity is fluid and changes, usually on a regular or semi-regular basis but differs based on the individual), agender (a person who identifies with no gender at all), bigender (a person with two simultaneous gender identities), and many others.
Trans – Shortened version of “transgender,” with all the inclusive properties of the root word.
Transphobia – Fear or hatred of transgender individuals. This term, unlike homophobia, is only used for the transgender community and cannot be more broadly applied to the LGBTIQ population.
Appendix B