This afternoon Jared Mills and Misha Stone from Seattle Public Library shared their outreach and programming initiatives to the LGBTQ community, including successful events like Banned! Books in Drag and Legendary Children. Both librarians were led to reach out to this underserved community after discovering the LGBTQ population was growing at an estimated 57,993 in the city of Seattle, and moving beyond such areas as the Capital Hill neighborhood.
Before hosting such events, Mills and Stone, had to do their research and make a case to both the organization and their LGBTQ neighbors. One realization that was difficult was discovering that the library was not necessarily perceived as a safe space. Finding out where community members felt safe, and spending time outside the library walls was crucial. Mills understands that sometimes releasing control and working with outside organizations can be difficult, but stated, “We have to take a step back, so others can take a step forward.” Understanding that communities are three dimensional, and not homogeneous is important for any underserved group. This led to several co-curated events such as Dim Sum Dialog with Pride ASIA.
In closing, the speakers proclaimed, “Don’t be a Kool-Aid Man,” and use the following steps to engage:
- Listen to the community
- Ask how you can help
- Amplify voices
- Decentralize yourself
- Provide unconditional support
Services and outreach to the LGBTQ community should be a commitment and not simply a tokenization of the group. Librarians and institutions need to be fully invested.
Librarians can also take a look at current services: storytimes, outreach, booklists, and make sure to hold everyone accountable that these services are reflective of the entire community.
In communities and libraries where there might be push back, Mills suggests making a case to leadership with actual numbers that may show a disparity in service.
Attendees also received a sneak peek at a new project debuting in June at Seattle Public Library called “Sharing Our Voices,” visual oral histories using puppets and animation to tell the stories of local LGBTQ leaders.