[Libs-Or] ALA Council Resolution Condemning Discrimination Against Library Workers and Supporting the LGBTQIA+ Community

[Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney]

Another resolution passed at ALA Council over the weekend. I was very happy to represent LGBTQIA+ library workers in Oregon by voting "yes."

2022-2023 ALA CD#58
2023 ALA Annual Conference

Resolution Condemning Discrimination Against Library Workers and Supporting the LGBTQIA+ Community

Whereas discrimination against library workers based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression is a violation of their fundamental rights and undermines the principles of inclusivity and intellectual freedom that libraries uphold;

Whereas the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in 2022 alone, saw 2,229 reports of LGBTQ+ based sex discrimination in the workplace, with reports increasing yearly;

Whereas on June 24, 2022 the Executive Board of the ALA condemned "in the strongest terms possible, violence, threats of violence and other acts of intimidation increasingly taking place in America's libraries, particularly those acts that aim to erase the stories and identities of gay, queer, transgender, Black, Indigenous, persons of color, those with disabilities and religious minorities.";

Whereas recent incidents, such as the wrongful termination of Helene Gold, a New College librarian in Florida, and Suzette Baker, head librarian at the Kingsland Branch Library in Llano County Texas, have highlighted the challenges faced by library workers, endangering their livelihood and professional well-being;

Whereas 2023 has seen over 520 anti-LGBTQIA+ laws introduced to state legislatures across the United States, posing significant threats to the rights and protections of LGBTQIA+ individuals, including library workers;

Whereas LGBTQIA+ library workers are especially targeted by these laws due to the increased negative attention towards LGBTQIA+ information and resources in libraries, as evidenced by the dramatic increase in book challenges in libraries in 2022, of which "the vast majority were written by or about members of the LGBTQIA+ community and people of color" as reported by ALA March 22, 2023.

Whereas it is essential for the ALA to take proactive steps to address and combat these discriminatory practices and support library workers within the LGBTQIA+ community; now, therefore, be it Resolved, that the American Library Association (ALA), on behalf of its members:

1. Release a public statement condemning the wrongful terminations of library workers and all efforts to discriminate against library workers on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, including the intersectionality with other state and federally protected classes.

2. Create a taskforce to determine a strategy for addressing and tracking retaliatory employment cases against LGBTQIA+ library workers and develop a communications plan that highlights ALA's available resources specific to the LGBTQIA+ library worker community. The taskforce will have representation from but not limited to the Rainbow Round Table, Committee on Diversity, Committee on Library Advocacy, and Committee on Legislation. The taskforce shall report their findings and recommendations to the ALA Council at the Annual Conference in 2024.

Mover: Erin Berman, RRT Councilor
Seconder: Nadia Orozco-Sahi, New Mexico Chapter Councilor


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Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney
(She/They)
Library Director
__

City of Lincoln City  |  Driftwood Public Library
801 SW Hwy 101  |  Ste 201  |  Lincoln City, OR
P: 541.993.1251
E: kbrodbeck-kenney at lincolncity.org<mailto:kbrodbeck-kenney at lincolncity.org>  | W: Driftwoodlib.org

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