PRIORITIZING

YOUR LGBTQ2S+
SCHOOL
LIBRARY
COLLECTION
Kerri Hill
What do we know about the LGBTQ
school experience?

Students with multiple supportive staff at school felt greater belonging,

were less likely to miss school and had higher GPA's. (GSLEN 11)
In 2019, 48% of students could find information about LGBTQ related topics
in their school libraries (GSLEN 9)
In 2019, 55% of students with internet access could find LGBTQ related
information online via school computers. (GSLEN 9)
What do we know about the LGBTQ
school experience?

Students who had seen a safe space sticker or poster were more likely to identify
school staff who were supportive of LGBTQ students. (GSLEN 10)
Access to LGBTQ related books in the school library was the highest is has ever
been in 2019. (GSLEN 15)
Recommendations include increasing student access to appropriate and accurate
information regarding LGBTQ people, history and events, through inclusive
curricula, library and internet resources. (GSLEN 19)
HOW CAN THIS INFORMATION
HELP SHAPE SCHOOL
LIBRARY POLICY AND
PRACTICE?
Incorporating library policy to explicitly welcome and support
nonbinary, transgender and all LGBTQ2S+ students and resources.

Provide accurate and appropriate educational materials.

Provide a safe space with no tolerance for gender and orientation-

based discrimination or harassment.

Provide visual reminders of this supportive atmosphere using

prominent posters and stickers in the library, while incorporating
LGBTQ2S+ materials across a variety of monthly themes and
displays.
11 BOOKS TO
ADD TO
YOUR
COLLECTION
TODAY:
I couldn't stop at 10!
 Graphic Novels

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel

By Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo

The Marches, revisited! This time they are a blended, multiracial

family living in Brooklyn, struggling to get by while their father is
at war. The authors take many of the story points in the original
novel and transpose them into modern times, often with
different outcomes. But in a key twist, Jo is gay—something she
doesn’t reveal to readers or her family until the end of the
book, although she often alludes in her diary to a secret she
fears will turn her family against her.
 Graphic Novels

Stage Dreams

By Melanie Gillman

Flor, a Latinx outlaw, kidnaps a fine lady from a stagecoach,

hoping to get a nice ransom. Instead, she gets Grace, a
transgender Georgian who has fled to the West to escape
being drafted into the Confederate Army. That changes
everything, and before long, the two have teamed up to pull off
a daring caper.
 Graphic Novels

Bingo Love

By Tee Franklin

A favorite queer comic - even though it doesn’t have a lot of

action in it. It does have significant historical references to it,
which makes it engaging with a love story set in a time where
everyone is striving for equality. Plus, you get to see some cool
illustrated retro fashion looks.
 Non-Fiction

The Stonewall Riots

By Gayle E Pitman

This book is about the Stonewall Riots, that took place on June
28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village
neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The Riots are
attributed as the spark that ignited the LGBTQ+ movement.
A timely and necessary read, The Stonewall Riots helps readers
to understand the history and legacy of the LGBTQ+
movement.
 Non-Fiction

PRIDE: The Celebration and the Struggle

By Robin Stevenson

This book explores “Pride” beyond the parade.

Where did it start? How many different ways is it celebrated
around the globe? Pride is Canadian author Robin Stevenson’s
contribution to an often-neglected discussion, especially among
young people, but her book makes the subject accessible and
relevant.
 Non-Fiction

No Way, They Were Gay? Hidden Lives

and Secret Loves
By Lee Wind

History has often left out the stories of LGBTQIA+ people and
censored the lives and loves of some of the world’s most
famous people, from William Shakespeare to Eleanor
Roosevelt.
This book takes a fascinating journey through primary sources
—poetry, memoir, news clippings, and images of ancient
artwork—to explore the hidden (and often surprising) Queer
lives and loves of two dozen historical figures.
 Fiction

Black Flamingo

By Dean Atta

Michael is stuck. He never feels Greek or Black enough, or even

the right kind of gay, especially when he discovers drag culture.
Told in free verse by a renowned poet, this novel explores what
it means to find a space to fit in.
 Fiction

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali

By Sabina Khan

Bangladeshi-American high school senior Rukhsana Khan is

keeping a major secret from her conservative Muslim parents:
She has a girlfriend, named Ariana. When Rukhsana’s mother
catches her kissing Ariana, she whisks Rukhsana off to
Bangladesh and embarks on a campaign to find her a suitable
husband. Thankfully, things seem to work out OK for the teen in
this sweetly dramatic novel.
 Fiction

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and

Virtue

By Mackenzi Lee

A young bisexual British lord embarks on an unforgettable

Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush. As
Monty embarks on his journey, his quests for pleasure and vice
are in danger of coming to an end. Not only does his father
expect him to take over the family’s estate upon his return, but
Monty is also nursing an impossible crush on his best friend
and traveling companion, Percy.
 Fiction

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

By Malinda Lo

America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love,
especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens
everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With
deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won
citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see
the light of day.
 Fiction

Can't Take That Away

By Steven Salvatore

A genderqueer teen finds the courage to stand up and speak

out for equality when they are discriminated against by their
high school administration.
When Carey meets Cris, they feel seen for the first time in their
life and finds the confidence to audition for a role of in the
school musical, setting off a chain reaction of prejudice by
Carey’s tormentor and others in the school. It’s up to Carey,
Cris, and their friends to defend their rights—and they refuse
to be silenced.
 SUGGESTED
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES

I DREAM LIBRARY

BC based Website providing kidlit, middle grade and

YA recommended book lists of diverse, queer and
allied book selections. Each suggested YA title
includes a link to a youtube video of interest about
the book or author. Highly recommended resource!

I Dream Library
 SUGGESTED
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES

SOGI 123
Curated Book List - annotated book list from 2020
with many categories, including picture books,
middle grades, graphic novels and YA, fiction and
non-fiction. Updated each year. Amazing resource
for adding inclusive, recommended books to a
school library collection.

2020+K-12+Top+SOGI+Books+List+Update.pdf (squarespace.com)
 WE CAN MAKE A
DIFFERENCE BY
PROVIDING ACCURATE
AND SUPPORTIVE
LGBTQ2S+ MATERIALS
IN OUR LIBRARIES!
 Works Cited:
"The 2019 National School Climate Survey.” GLSEN, 2020, www.glsen.org/research/2019-
national-school-climate-survey.