Can Scottish public library services claim they are socially inclusive of all minority groups when lesbian fiction is still so inaccessible?

Abstract

This paper explores how Scottish public library services have responded to providing a service to a virtually invisible minority group, i.e. lesbians who enjoy reading lesbian fiction. The evidence that provides the foundation for the results discussed in this paper was drawn from the following sources: a study of the 32 public library services in Scotland, conducted through an e-mail/postal survey on lesbian fiction; an analysis of online public library websites and catalogues; workshops and focus groups with library workers and newly qualified librarians; women who identify as lesbian or bisexual and read lesbian fiction; and a questionnaire on lesbian fiction distributed through recognized lesbian forums and publications. The research found there to be an inequity of service provision for lesbians in terms of recreational reading and, in the light of this, recommends a reassessment of certain library practices. In particular, there is a need to raise awareness of LGBT people among library workers by encouraging contact with LGBT people and their support networks and providing diversity training linked with training in how to develop collections of lesbian and gay fiction and how to promote those collections to their main audience.

Definition of lesbian fiction: For the purposes of this research two definitions of lesbian fiction apply: fiction that is written by lesbians, about lesbians for lesbians; or fiction which has at its centre character(s) who identify as lesbian and/or fiction in which the key themes of the novel are lesbian centric.