A variety of public libraries shared their hands-on practices for improving and deepening their equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) work at the Public Library Association conference, held in Portland, OR, March 23–25.

Among them, the "Queering the Library: Strategically Creating Space for the LGBTQ+ Community" session, presented by Rebecca Oxley and Teresa Miller, librarians in the Prince George's County Memorial Library System, MD, was unusual in that, rather than being led by top leadership, the change was led by branch-level staffers who included in their presentation how they worked to get buy-in from library administration. The library started from a position in which individual branches held Pride events but there was no system-wide initiative, unlike other heritage months, and a voluntary yearly training was held but failed to reach those who most need it. To build on those foundations, the presenters created a proposal focused on branch-level staff to make Pride an official initiative, create programs that staff could duplicate at any branch, and equip staff to run those programs responsibly. Some of their innovative offerings included a Queer Cartoons program and a Rainbow Family Festival.

When COVID interrupted plans for in-person programs, they pivoted to a digital Heritage Hub, featuring submissions from the public edited into a digital quilt, plus virtual programs ranging from making a collage flag to rainbow science. Training from Bright Baltimore was made mandatory, and a Pride 365 plan extended the programming beyond the month of June—in fact, they discovered it is easier and cheaper to get big name LBGTQIA+ authors at other times of year, and for virtual appearances. A program titled “My Child Came Out to Me, Now What?” reached out to parents of queer kids, while the GSA jumpstart initiative reached out to local middle and high schools to help them transition their existing in-person Gender & Sexualities Alliances to a digital framework, and start new ones.

Teaming up with other work groups led to intersectional programing such as working with the Black culture team on a Black and Proud art exhibit and with the Latinx group on a Spanish language community discussion about LGBTQIA+ issues. The Butterfly Project for Black and brown trans women offered a discreet and respectful space for workforce development tailored to their needs, featuring one-on-one appointments, access to free gender affirming business attire, and help from peer mentors (who are compensated for their work, which is free to the patron).

To extend this work beyond Prince George’s County, the team is working on a toolkit on serving LGBTQIA+ customers in libraries, and started an interest group within the Maryland Library Association to survey services statewide, with an eye to becoming a caucus in the future and addressing challenges faced by other libraries.

For those looking to start an LGBTQIA+ work team in their own libraries, the presenters advise: find support among leadership or, if top administration is not possible, from someone above you in the org chart; “set high expectations and support staff as they learn,” collaborate across departments and with other work teams, create a plan for backlash, communicate impact, and celebrate successes. In particular, they urged librarians to push back against the misconceptions that queer content is inherently sexual or adult, pointing out that positive representation of LBGTQIA+ people reduces bullying and contributes to mental health. Those interested in their resources and contact information can find them in the shared slide deck.