Recent lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender fiction for teens: are Canadian public libraries providing adequate collections?

Abstract

Analyzes selected Canadian public libraries' holdings of young adult fiction with gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgender content published between 1998 and 2002 in order to measure access to such fiction and to determine whether any evidence of bias on the part of selectors exists. Identifies 35 titles published between 1998 and 2002, a slight decrease from the previous five‐year period. These titles attracted 34 percent fewer reviews per title as compared to a randomly selected control group of non‐lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender fiction for teens (LGBT) titles. On average, in the nine Canadian public libraries studied, significantly fewer copies of each LGBT title were held, as compared to the list of control titles. Without further investigation, the paper could not conclude whether this difference constitutes evidence of significant bias on the part of selectors. However, the data do show that certain libraries are significantly more likely to purchase the control titles that the LGBT titles, and that access to these titles varies according to one's location in Canada.

Citation

Hilton Boon, M. and Howard, V. (2004), "Recent lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender fiction for teens: are Canadian public libraries providing adequate collections?", Collection Building, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 133-138. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604950410544674