Abstract
In recent years, librarians in various sectors have been moving forward a conversation on the distinct information needs and information-seeking behavior of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) patrons and how well the profession recognizes and meets those needs. Health sciences librarianship has been slower than other areas of the profession in creating an evidence base covering the needs of its LGBTQ patrons, with, until recently, only very limited literature on this subject. LGBTQ health sciences librarianship is now starting to attract new interest, with librarians working together to bring this emerging specialization to the attention of the broader professional community. In this paper, the authors report on a dedicated panel discussion that took place at the 2016 joint annual meeting of the Medical Library Association and Canadian Health Libraries Association/Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; discuss subsequent reflections; and highlight the emerging role for health sciences librarians in providing culturally competent services to the LGBTQ population. Recommendations are also provided for establishing a tool kit for LGBTQ health sciences librarianship from which librarians can draw. We conclude by highlighting the importance of critically reflective practice in health sciences librarianship in the context of LGBTQ health information.
Highlights
In recent years, librarians in various sectors have been moving forward a conversation on the distinct information needs and information-seeking behavior of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) patrons and how well the profession recognizes and meets those needs
Health sciences librarianship has been slower than other areas of the profession [1, 2] in creating an evidence base covering the needs of its LGBTQ patrons: until 2016, only three articles reported on this subject [3,4,5]
Co-moderator Martin Morris drew together the themes of the panel, incorporating his own reflections, and chaired the audience discussion. He noted that the LGBTQ community is an underserved population in the context of librarianship as a whole [34] and that the conversation around LGBTQ health librarianship, which the panelists seek to advance, connects to and can be informed by broader conversations within librarianship. He added that many LGBTQ patrons do not believe that medical librarians are able or willing to meet their
Summary
Librarians in various sectors have been moving forward a conversation on the distinct information needs and information-seeking behavior of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) patrons and how well the profession recognizes and meets those needs. Knowing and understanding the complexities of sex, gender, and sexuality can give health sciences librarians the opportunity to be a bridge between LGBTQ populations and health care providers. Blake Hawkins continued the session with reflections on the health information behaviors and needs of LGBTQ youth drawn from his own research in this area [18, 19] and discussed specific considerations that health sciences librarians should remember when interacting with this group. It is important for health librarians to recognize these varying experiences and be open minded when building relationships with potential library users, such as with community organizations or campus queer–straight alliances His discussion took as a starting point the 2010 It Gets Better campaign, which in a problematic fashion attempted to provide motivation for LGBTQ jmla.mlanet.org youth [20, 21]. If the pilot is successful, he hopes to refine the LGBTQ training and collaborate with other libraries to develop a standardized program that can be adopted by a variety of libraries
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