WK 14 Prompt

At my branch, we do have year round displays in the stacks: one for our racial equity collection, and one for our LGBTQ+ collection, and an area where the Urban Fic is shelved. These three displays are my three reasons why I think you can have both – you can have some displays to highlight and uplift marginalized voices while also interfiling materials in with the rest of the collection to avoid ostracization/segregation.

The Racial Equity collection is a core collection that Indianapolis Public Library has at every branch, thanks to a grant from Lilly. The IndyPL website states that “The Racial Equity Collection makes it easier than ever for Library patrons to access antiracism and social justice resources. The Library's collection includes thousands of materials including books, e-books, audiobooks, DVDs, and Blu-rays. The materials span a wide range of genres, with titles suited for children, teens, and adults.” The materials included are all tagged with special fluorescent yellow stickers on their spines, however, all items are available elsewhere – if something is tagged as part of the Racial Equity collection, it can also be found (other copies) in the stacks shelved regularly as well. I hope that made sense. For example, a lot of Colson Whitehead novels can be found not only on the Racial Equity collection display, but also interfiled in the normal Fic area. So, reason one is that it uplifts a marginalized community (really showcasing Black excellence) year round, so I believe it should have its own special place.

Our LGBTQIA+ display is on a bookshelf of its own, in between Urban Fic and Mysteries. How I like to keep it going is to shelve any new (or core materials) on it, and regularly rotate what I have highlighted. Anything I pull and decide to interfile goes back into the rest of the stacks. This way, authors/materials/movies that are LGBTQ+ related can be uplifted year round (not just during Pride month), but they can also be shelved with other items so they are not ostracized. The location of the display is also key – we have it visible but also in a more secluded area, so patrons do not fear for their safety/it is not in an “all eyes on them” area. I believe that keeping some materials available at all times pertaining to the topic is important, and the way we have this set up, it allows easy access while also not limiting LGBTQ+ topics to only being in one area – the materials are all throughout the stacks as well. This is my reason for separating some materials from the rest of the collection – it can be a rotational thing that gives patrons access to in-demand information easily.

However, I do want to mention something here. I am talking about the Adult LGBTQIA+ collection, not the Children’s. We made the decision at our branch that the area where our Teen/Children’s LGBT display was unsafe, and could make children feel scared/vulnerable/etc. to look at the materials in front of other patrons or their parents, so we interfiled a lot of the collection into their respective areas and turned the place it had been into a “highlights” section where a few LGBT-related materials are showcased. We did not want to out any kids, so we made that decision for their safety (we have quite a few teens who identify as part of that community). So, if I was to give a reason against having all LGBTQIA+ Teen/Juvenile materials in only one location, I would cite safety. Be smart where you put those materials so that your younger patrons do not potentially face violence or danger.

Finally, Urban Fic is its own area as well. My reasoning for this one is simple. Sci-fi gets shelved in one place, Mystery in another, Fiction in another, and thus, shelving all Urban Fic in one area allows it to just be another genre like the rest of them!