Petition Calls for Separating LGBTQ Materials in Iowa Library

[TexasTowelie]

ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Residents in northwest Iowa are fighting over a petition that calls on the public library to separate material dealing with LGBTQ issues and to request public input before acquiring such material.

Some expressed support for the Orange City Public Library’s integration of LGBTQ materials at a library board meeting Tuesday, the Sioux City Journal reported.

“There are gay kids, there are (transgender) kids in this town, and seeing their faces and seeing their lives mirrored in some of the books here means everything,” said Mike Goll, a resident.

But others shared reservations.

The petition was started by Terry Chi, an assistant psychology professor at Northwestern College, a liberal arts school in Orange City. The petition, which gathered more than 340 signatures in nine days, calls for labeling and separating materials involving LGBTQ issues within the library and providing a content rating service to help inform patrons’ decisions.

Read more: http://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2018/02/petition-calls-for-separating-lgbtq-materials-in-iowa-library/

[RKP5637]

1. When will they ever get out of other peoples pants with their Idiocracy. n/t

[guillaumeb]

2. Will they also separate the white authors from the non-white authors? eom

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. On the other hand, it might be helpful for those who want to seek out those materials.

However, I think the bigger danger is in the actual separation and perhaps labelling those who seek out those materials.

[rurallib]

4. they will be easier to identify for the book burning next July 4th

fucking idiots!

Last time I went to northwest Iowa I felt like I stepped into a time machine and landed in the 50s.

[murielm99]

5. The American Library Association

came out with a statement against labeling during the McCarthy era. Most libraries have a selection policy that forbids it.

As far as finding those materials goes, they can be looked up in the electronic card catalog. The nonfiction items will be shelved more or less together. All items should have a listing under a heading that relates to LGBTQ items. Anyone who cannot find an item this way can ask a staff member.

This stupidity will fail, as it deserves.