1. Queering the Library:
What are YOU doing to serve your
LGBTQ community?
Lea Susan Engle, Texas A&M University
Katie Paul French, Indiana University, Bloomington
Lowell Kane, Purdue University

2. What we’re going to do for you:
• Understand the current climate for LGBTQ
students on college and university campuses
• Become aware of unique information and
education needs of LGBTQ students
• Create a plan of action to implement at your
home institution to increase inclusivity of
LGBTQ communities

3. What you’re going to do for us:
• Ask questions
• Tweet using the hashtag #queerlib
• Check out our website at:
– librarylea.com/queerlib

4. Vocabulary
• Sexual Orientation
– Direction of your attraction
– Mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual
• Gender Identity/Expression
– Perception of self
– Cultural indicators
• LGBTQ

5. CLIMATE

6. Climate and our Students
How students experience
Research supports the
their campus Discriminatory
pedagogical value of a
environment influences environments have a
diverse student body and
both learning and negative effect on
faculty on enhancing
developmental student learning.2
learning outcomes.3
outcomes.1
1 Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005
2 Cabrera, Nora, Terenzini, Pascarella, & Hagedron, 1999; Feagin, Vera & Imani, 1996; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991.
3 Hale, 2004; Harper & Quaye , 2004; Harper, & Hurtado, 2007; Hurtado, 2003.

7. By the numbers
• 31% of LGBTQ students identify their campus
as a phobic climate
• 21% experience harassment
• 33% of queer-spectrum and 38% of trans-
spectrum students consider leaving their
institutions
Rankin, S., Weber, G., Blumenfeld, W., and Frazer, M.S. (2010). 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People. Charlotte, NC:
Campus Pride.

8. I considered leaving my campus because during my first semester….I was
physically assaulted on campus on my way home. The university’s
response was less than adequate.”
Rankin, S., Weber, G., Blumenfeld, W., and Frazer, M.S. (2010). 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People. Charlotte, NC:
Campus Pride.

9. WHY IS THIS A *LIBRARY* ISSUE?

10. I’M JUST ONE VOICE, WHAT CAN I
DO?

11. COULD THIS GET ME IN TROUBLE?