Peer Reviewed Article

Not doing it: Avoidance and sex-related materials in libraries

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Abstract

The last few years have seen a massive wave of book bans and challenges, and in some cases legal action directed at librarians and library workers in the United States. Most of these challenges have involved materials dealing with sexuality, specifically LGBTQ+ identities and expressions. Though these challenges have mainly played out in public and school libraries, their effect is also being felt in academic libraries. Using patterns found in the literature, this analysis discusses librarians' affective discomfort, uncertainty, and emotional reactivity around sexual issues, its relationship to avoidance of collection development tasks in this area, and how this avoidance can have real-world consequences for vulnerable populations.

Keywords: LGBTQ, sexual health, sex ed, collection development, self-censorship, professional development, school libraries, academic libraries, Sexual health, Sex Ed, Collection development

How to Cite:

Jefferson, R. C. & Dziedzic-Elliott, E., (2023) “Not doing it: Avoidance and sex-related materials in libraries”, The Political Librarian 6(2), 39-56. doi: https://doi.org/10.7936/pollib.8812