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Start Date
10-12-2022 1:00 PM
End Date
10-13-2022 1:45 PM
Presentation Type
Presentation
Abstract
In 2019-2020 the Andover Public Library received book challenges on three books in the children’s collection featuring transgender main characters, George by Alex Gino, Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart and I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings. The Library Board rejected the challenges and the books remain in the children’s collections. This presentation will share the story of the challenges and all that transpired, including media attention and a protest. It will demonstrate how the director and the library board rejected the book challenges. This specific example demonstrates some of the best practices for facing book challenges on LGBTQ content.
Recommended Citation
Taylor, Tom R., "Transgender Children’s Books in the Public Library" (2022). Kansas LGBTQ+ Leadership Symposium. 5.
DOI: 10.58809/IXYL3551
Available at:
https://scholars.fhsu.edu/ks_lgbtq_symposium/presentations/Schedule/5
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Transgender Children’s Books in the Public Library
In 2019-2020 the Andover Public Library received book challenges on three books in the children’s collection featuring transgender main characters, George by Alex Gino, Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart and I am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings. The Library Board rejected the challenges and the books remain in the children’s collections. This presentation will share the story of the challenges and all that transpired, including media attention and a protest. It will demonstrate how the director and the library board rejected the book challenges. This specific example demonstrates some of the best practices for facing book challenges on LGBTQ content.
Comments
Tom Taylor is director of the Andover Kansas Public Library, where he has been since 2013. Previously Taylor worked at the South Central Kansas Library System, and public and academic libraries in Kansas and Florida. He currently serves on the State Library of Kansas Advisory Board. Taylor is a past president of Wichita Area Library Association and the Rotary Club of Andover. He holds a MLIS from the University of South Florida.