Picture Books with LGBTQ Characters in Pennsylvania Public Libraries

LGBTQ Children’s Books

Picture Books with LGBTQ Characters in Pennsylvania Public Libraries

by Tracee Yawger

Multiculturalists agree that children benefit from seeing themselves and their families in children’s books; nontraditional families have been portrayed since the 1970s and 1980s as including single parent, blended, and multiethnic families.[1] With this in mind, certain populations continue to be missing from the pages of books for young children; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning (LGBTQ) family members continue to be marginalized.[2] The last ten years have seen a steady rise in books with LGBTQ characters for teens. Books featuring gay and questioning teens are increasingly found on the shelves of both public and school libraries.[3] Nancy Garden, a noted author of young adult/teen books with LGBTQ characters, states that these books “have found a small but permanent place in the YA canon.”[4] Books that include LGBTQ characters that are written for young children, however, continue to be highly controversial and much less available.

Seeking to discover the current availability of picture books in the collections of Pennsylvania public libraries, this study attempts to answer the following questions:

• Are Pennsylvania public libraries including picture books with LGBTQ characters

in their children’s collections?

• Are these picture books with LGBTQ characters accessible to patrons?

Very few research studies explore the inclusion of picture books with LGBTQ characters in the collections of public libraries. Two studies, however, go beyond the anecdotal and investigate specific holdings. Alex Spence surveys public libraries from each of the fifty states and ten Canadian provinces for thirty “picture books with gay characters or gay-related content.”[5] The research concludes that both countries have large differences in the number of gay-related titles for children. The study reports that larger systems generally have more titles than smaller systems, but some smaller library systems provide more titles than their larger counterparts, challenging the concept that budgets and geographical area alone influence these collectiondecisions. Public library holdings reflected that only “seven of the thirty titles are held by more than 50 percent of the surveyed libraries, and seventeen of the thirty are carried by fewer than 25 percent of these libraries.”[6]

Vivian Howard conducts a study in 2005 of Canadian public library holdings of LGBTQ picture books. Seeking to determine whether these libraries exhibit bias in their collections, the study compares titles with gay themes that were reviewed in book review sources and a control list consisting of non-gay-themed picture books from the same review sources using their internet-accessible catalogs. The results conclude that gay-themed picture books receive fewer reviews and are less likely to be collected than a control group of non-gay-themed titles.[7] Bias, however, is difficult to determine; other studies have also noted that there are multiple reasons which may be causes for not purchasing gay-themed picture books other than its subject matter.[8]

Vivian Howard’s study concentrates on titles that have been reviewed, seeking to increase the likelihood that librarians would have had some exposure to the books. A valid concern, as a panel discussion by several book reviewers at a program during the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) 1990 conference in Chicago note, is that small publishing houses rarely get exposure in the major review sources.[9] Many of the picture books with gay and lesbian characters are published by small presses. This is beginning to change as evidenced by And Tango Makes Three, Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, and In our Mothers’ House, but this shift is quite recent.[10] The article also discusses the fact that reviews of these titles can sometimes be written as a warning, seemingly intending to alert librarians to the possibility of the book being challenged. Roger Sutton, then editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books and current editor in chief of The Horn Book, shares his frustration at being asked by some readers to label books in his reviews.

They (librarians) want us to use words and phrases like “problematic,” “mature readers,”
“realistic language,” or “sensitive subject.” Some librarians want this kind of labeling
because they are themselves censors; the great majority, however, are simply afraid for
their jobs.[11]
Because so little research has been done on the inclusion of these titles in public libraries, it is important to examine other issues related to picture books with LGBTQ characters in literature intended for young children. These include collection development issues and the societal benefits attributed to the inclusion of this literature.

A common defense against providing materials with LGBTQ themes and characters is the “community standards” banner.Earl Lee states that the purpose of the “community standards” argument is to ensure that libraries be stocked only with materials inoffensive to everyone.[12] The resulting collection might fit into a tote bag. “Community standards” also seems to imply that the community in question is composed of strictly heterosexual individuals. The 2000 U.S. Census, however, estimates that 250,000 children are being raised in same-sex households across the nation.[13] Other estimates range anywhere from six to fourteen million. These families are not restricted to large cities or certain areas of the country; same-sex couples reside in all voting districts nationwide.[14] The 2009 American Community Survey released by the US Census Bureau show that the number of same-sex couples has increased at three times the rate of population growth from 2008 to 2009.[15] Yet despite these numbers, a 2006 study by Indiana University sociologist Brian Powell reports that thirty percent of survey respondents believe that pets should be included in the definition of a family, but not gay couples. Powell conducted three surveys between 2003 and 2010; over time these surveys reveal a 10% increase in the number of respondents who consider same-sex couples with children as a family.[16]

Families with same-sex parents are members of every community. The lack of materials available in a public library which reflect their family make-up indicate that despite the demographics, LGBTQ individuals and families continue to be marginalized. Marginalization is a key factor in the identification of groups to be included under the umbrella of multiculturalism. What are the recommendations by the profession regarding multiculturalism in collection development? Hazel Rochman, a leading advocate of multiculturalism for children, writes of the power of multicultural literature in a child’s worldview:

Books can make a difference in dispelling prejudice and building community; not with
role models and literal recipes, not with noble messages about the human family, but
with enthralling stories that make us imagine the lives of others. A good story lets you
know people as individuals in all their particularity and conflict; and once you see someone
as a person – flawed, complex, striving – then you’ve reached beyond stereotype.[17]

The ALAembraces diversity through many committees and book awards, as well as a further interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.

Intellectual freedom, the essence of equitable library services, provides for free access
to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause, or
movement may be explored. Toleration is meaningless without tolerance for what
some may consider detestable. Librarians cannot justly permit their own preferences
to limit their degree of tolerance in collection development, because freedom is
indivisible.[18]
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table (GLBTRT) of the ALA specifically states that one of its main responsibilities is to “promote the improved quality, quantity, and accessibility of library materials and service of particular interest or usefulness to lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgendered people of all ages.”[19] The profession of librarianship values multiculturalism and includes LGBTQ issues within that realm.

If multiculturalism is highly valued by the profession, then it would seem likely that all aspects of a multicultural view would be represented in the collection development materials used to educate and inform librarians. This however, is not the case. Children’s literature textbooks routinely call for inclusion of ethnic and multicultural diversity yet make little or no mention[20] of same-sex families. Tomlinson & Lynch-Brown state that “it is important for children to see families other than the typical mother, father, and two children portrayed positively in books,” yet no mention of same-sex parents were included in the examples given.[21] Though Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite was listed under picture storybooks, it was not referenced in the section entitled nontraditional families.[22] Lukens does address the topic in her text A Critical Handbook of Children’s Literature, using the same title:
Daddy’s Roommate is a matter-of-fact picture of gay family life in which Daddy’s friend
comes to live with him. The speaker is a boy who tells us that Daddy and his friend
work, and eat, and shave, and fight and make up, and sleep together. They also read
to him, catch bugs, play ball…the boy is happy, and that is that.[23]
It is, however, the only title mentioned and the only reference given. Understanding Diversity Through Novels and Picture Books by Knowles and Smith is the exception to the rule, listing a total of nine picture books which include gay or lesbian family members.[24]

Jill M. Hermann-Wilmarth speaks out for the need to train teachers on the importance of including gay and lesbian books in the classroom.[25] Even with previous calls for including gay and lesbian issues in teacher education, the topic is very rarely addressed in professional texts.[26]

I am frustrated that few university professors find time in their curriculum to integrate
the topics of homophobia and heterosexism into their classroom discussions of other
“isms,” like racism and sexism.[27]

Patricia Austin reports on her study of inclusion of LGBTQ-themed titles in children’s literature textbooks.[28] Thirty-three texts are examined not only for inclusion of overt and covert terms in tables of contents and indexes, but also using content and comparative analysis. Several editions of the same textbook are also compared for any changes. “Twenty-four percent of the texts contain no mention of homosexuality whatsoever.”[29] When content is included, the way in which it is introduced is of particular interest.
The most likely places where LGBT literature was discussed or mentioned were in
sections on contemporary realistic fiction (52%), censorship and controversial books
(48%), diversity (42%), and sex, sexuality, and gender (41%).[30]

It is worth noting that when LGBTQ content is included in children’s literature textbooks, it is most frequently introduced in light of the problems that it may cause for the teacher or librarian.

In addition to books specific to children’s literature, textbooks used in collection development classes specifically for librarians rarely raise the topic. In Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, Johnson does define diverse collections as those which “address and respond to the needs and interests of an increasingly diverse society, including individuals with disabilities; single parent and other nontraditional families; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individual.”[31] Evans discusses censorship and self-censorship, but the only mention of gay themes is a Wisconsin school district’s banning of four young adult books.[32] If the literature is not included in the textbooks used to train librarians, it is no surprise that these titles are not on the shelves of public libraries.
Public librarians were not always expected to have a responsibility to develop and maintain a well-rounded, diverse collection. Until well into the 20th century, librarians were more often gatekeepers, charged to provide moral guidance. Current discussions of censorship often revolve around outside censors questioning the libraries collection, but considered more egregious is the self-censorship practiced by authors,[33] publishers,[34] reviewers,[35] and librarians themselves.[36]

An article by Debra Lau Whelan in the February 2009 issue of School Library Journal was an impassioned plea for children’s librarians to recognize the problem and even the prevalence of self-censorship.[37] Controversial books are not getting to children because librarians are not buying them. The Newbery winner for 2008 was not purchased for many public and school library collections because the book includes the word “scrotum.” Self-censorship is the embodiment of librarian as gate keeper, preventing children from having access to ideas which may cause the adult professional personal discomfort.

Once these picture books are purchased for the children’s collection of a public library, are they accessible? A common strategy to find books in the library catalog is to employ a subject search. In the past, Library of Congress subject headings have included judgmental and offensive descriptions such as Yellow Peril, Jewish Question and Mammies.[38] The term Homosexuality first appeared in 1946; before then, the Library of Congress used the main heading of Sexual Perversion for gay and/or lesbian content.[39] Carrie McClary and Vivian Howard published a study looking at the subject headings for LGBT young adult (YA) and adult fiction in five urban Canadian public libraries, finding that 55% of the YA titles searched had been assigned an overt, unambiguous subject heading. They also found that YA titles were most often assigned the general subject heading of Homosexuality, whereas adult titles received subject headings that were more specific (Lesbians, Gay Men).[40] The authors speculated that perhaps the trend toward social tagging might help to increase the search terms by which patrons might find these titles.

Yet subject headings are not the only barrier to access. Do the titles reside on shelves within the children’s department? Are these shelves accessible to the children for whom they are intended? Moody discusses some of the ways in which libraries attempt to avoid the charge of censorship by keeping the book in question but limiting the chances that a child might actually find it. Common practices include shelving the book in nonfiction, parenting collections, and in the librarian’s office.[41] This question of whether subject headings reflect the gay and lesbian characters in a book and whether these books are then accessible to the intended audience are valid questions in a discussion of the possibilities of self-censorship.

Beyond the public library’s mission to serve the “needs, interests, and abilities of all persons in the community the library serves,”[42] there is also the reality that bullying in schools continues to be a significant problem. Statistics reveal that nearly three-quarters of LGBTQ high school students hear anti-gay comments frequently.[43] The 2007 National School Climate Survey found that nearly 9 out of 10 GLBT high school students are harassed; nearly a third of these students skipped a day of school in the past month because they felt unsafe.[44] Several state and national studies have found that gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens are more likely to seriously consider and attempt suicide than heterosexual teens[45] and discrimination is seen as the culprit.[46] Children of LGBTQ parents are similarly at risk as a 2001 study reports that straight students with same-sex parents experience the same amount of harassment as LGBTQ students.[47]

If these statistics indicate a need to address the homophobic conditions which plague LGBTQ children and children of LGBTQ families, many maintain that children from more traditional families would also benefit from books with LGBTQ characters. Linda Pickett, as the chair of The Association for Childhood Education International Diversity Committee, addresses this by stating that “to create real peace, which can only be possible in a world with human rights and social justice as basic values, as Gandhi said, ‘we shall have to begin with the children.’”[48]

Introduction of gay-themed literature in the classroom has shown that children are capable of, and interested in, discussion of gay and lesbian families.[49] Janine Schall and Gloria Kauffman report that following the reading of several different picture books with lesbian and gay characters, the children “wondered why they didn’t have access to books that explained life, relationships, and family.”[50] As John Warren Stewig states, “seeing such diversity in books can only help all children more accurately understand the variety of life today.”[51] Joyce Herbeck specifically calls for an early beginning to this diversity in books, as “knowledge of alternative lifestyles needs to begin early and to continue into adolescence in order to help children accept and understand their peers and their families”[52]

This study seeks to answer the question – are Pennsylvania public libraries including picture books with LGBTQ characters in their children’s collections? If the answer is yes, then the next question – are these picture books with LGBTQ characters accessible to patrons – is vital. Collections without accessibility are often considered an overt act of self-censorship; the purchase yet subsequent attempt to restrict or prevent access.[53] An online search is made of Pennsylvania public library catalogs for a select list of picture book titles with LGBTQ characters. Once ownership is established, the record is searched for subject headings and shelving information. The online record is the entrée for both the patron and the researcher to a library’s collection.