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Coming Out as a Library
Offering Support to the LGBTQ+ Community 
During Trying Times
Daniel Smith, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

ABSTR AC T The Styberg Library has offered support to the LGBTQ+ 
community in a variety of ways. This work stemmed from larger 
seminary commitments and statements that served as an impetus 
for the work. As an institution affiliated with the United Method-
ist Church, we recognized how the current impasse in the denomi-
nation had affected our community. In response, we offered 
ourselves as a place of affirmation and support. First, we curated 
several displays to highlight relevant resources and services that 
may be of interest to the queer community. We also created an 
LGBTQ+ LibGuide to highlight library resources/services and online 
community resources. Then, we began the process of construct-
ing an archive to document the history of the seminary’s LGBTQ+ 
community after realizing our archive lacked these documents. We 
continue to explore further ways to extend support. This poster 
highlighted various aspects of this work.

INTRODUCTION

The Styberg Library at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary 
strives to be a welcoming place for all, respecting the diverse identi-
ties that people bring with them, including gender identity/expres-
sion and sexual orientation. We have become more explicit about 
our support of the LGBTQ+ community over the last couple of years, 
and we have drafted a library welcome statement (Styberg Library 
2019b) for our website to this end. We have also created additional 
services and collected specific resources to further support this work. 
We continue to explore further ways to extend support. This poster 
highlighted various aspects of this work.



270  AT L A 2020 PROCEEDINGS

CONTEXT

To begin, I want to give a little context for the events that preceded 
our supportive actions. In 1968, the United Methodist Church was 
formed through a merger. Of course, Methodism had existed long 
before this, but this merger created an even larger, stronger denom-
ination. By 1972, the church was actively debating what they called 

“the issue of homosexuality.” At the end of the church’s quadrennial 
gathering known as General Conference, new language entered the 
Book of Discipline, which is the governing text for the denomination. 
This inserted language formed what is known as the “incompatibil-
ity clause,” which says in ¶304.3 that “the practice of homosexuality 
is incompatible with Christian teaching” (United Methodist Church 
2016). From 1976 to 2016, additional prohibitive language has been 
inserted into the Book of Discipline, like prohibitions against ordain-
ing LGBTQ+ clergy, marrying same-gender couples, or supporting 
LGBTQ+ groups. Groups and individuals have been trying to change 
the church’s stance since very early and, in 2019, a very contentious 
special General Conference was called to specifically address “the 
issue of homosexuality.” As you can imagine, the atmosphere at the 
seminary was quite tense during this time and, after the conference, 
which added further restrictions, our community was left feeling 
lost, disappointed, angry, confused, and so much more. As an insti-
tution affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we recognized 
how the current impasse in the denomination had affected our 
community. In response, we offered ourselves as a place of affirma-
tion and support. Along with the seminary, we wanted to openly 
show support for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly our students. 
We have continued to build upon our initial response. The poster 
detailed some of the ways that we have done this.



Posters  271

OUR RESPONSE

As soon as the conference was over, we decorated the library with 
rainbows and symbols of pride. This included resources for students 
to creatively express themselves 
with art supplies.

We also created a special display 
of LGBTQ+ materials from our 
collection. Since then, we have had 
at least two other LGBTQ+ specific 
displays for events like Pride month 
in June and LGBTQ+ History Month 
in October. We have also endeav-
ored to include LGBTQ+ authors in 
other monthly displays throughout 
the year.

Before the conference, we 
had planned to create an LGBTQ+ 
LibGuide (Styberg Library 2019a), 
and it was in the works. By the end of the conference, we decided 
that it was time to share it with our community. It showcased many 
LGBTQ+ library resources as well as other online resources. We 
continue to revise and add to it as new items are added to the collec-
tion and when we discover new online resources. We also regu-
larly feature new LGBTQ+ resources in our “new arrivals” LibGuide. 



272  AT L A 2020 PROCEEDINGS

These items are featured in a special area shelving next to our main 
entrance and are usually quickly checked out by our patrons.

In October 2019, we decided to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month 
in conjunction with Theological Libraries Month. We created a 
display of materials from the collection, which included special 
archival materials that showcased the seminary’s LGBTQ+ history. 
This celebratory month also featured a discussion with a queer 
professor and alum who share their research and experience as 
LGBTQ+ members of the seminary. This was a very moving experi-
ence for the seminary community.

In the process of planning for our celebration, we wanted to find 
information about the seminary’s LGBTQ+ history but quickly real-
ized that our institutional archive was sorely lacking in this regard. 
We reached out to seminary friends to see if they knew someone who 
might be able to help expand this collection, and one name was 
shared by several folks. We contacted this alum and learned that she 
was a part of the founding of the seminary’s first LGBTQ+ student 
group, which became known as Sacred Worth. This group continues 
today, and we were able to celebrate its 25th anniversary last year. 
In fact, this alum was recently honored as a distinguished alum.



Posters  273

These items are featured in a special area shelving next to our main 
entrance and are usually quickly checked out by our patrons.

In October 2019, we decided to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month 
in conjunction with Theological Libraries Month. We created a 
display of materials from the collection, which included special 
archival materials that showcased the seminary’s LGBTQ+ history. 
This celebratory month also featured a discussion with a queer 
professor and alum who share their research and experience as 
LGBTQ+ members of the seminary. This was a very moving experi-
ence for the seminary community.

In the process of planning for our celebration, we wanted to find 
information about the seminary’s LGBTQ+ history but quickly real-
ized that our institutional archive was sorely lacking in this regard. 
We reached out to seminary friends to see if they knew someone who 
might be able to help expand this collection, and one name was 
shared by several folks. We contacted this alum and learned that she 
was a part of the founding of the seminary’s first LGBTQ+ student 
group, which became known as Sacred Worth. This group continues 
today, and we were able to celebrate its 25th anniversary last year. 
In fact, this alum was recently honored as a distinguished alum.

Overall, this work would not have been possible without key part-
nerships with alums and groups like Sacred Worth. They helped us 
publicize this event, and they contributed to the displays. We are 
very grateful for this continued collaboration and look forward to 
what the future will bring.

We have also updated our services and polices to better support 
the LGBTQ+ community. All library restrooms have been converted 
to be single-use and all-gender. We created a library welcoming state-
ment that specifically welcomes people of all sexual orientations and 
gender identities:

The Styberg Library welcomes and serves all persons, respecting 
the many diverse identities that they bring with them, including, 
but not limited to, ability, age, class, gender identity/expression, 
national origin, sexual orientation, race, and religion. The Library 
is committed to serving everyone professionally, hospitably, and 
equitably as we work to fulfill the mission and goals of the Library 
and Seminary. The Library strives to provide a positive, encouraging 
environment that makes everyone feel welcome and therefore 
better able to pursue their academic studies.

Finally, we created a form (Styberg Library 2020) that allows patrons 
to share their chosen name with us so that all library correspondence 
uses their chosen name.

We have promoted our resources and events in a variety of ways, 
and we continue to do so. For us, Facebook, the seminary newsletter, 
targeted emails, and flyers have been instrumental. Of course, word 
of mouth has been hugely successful as well.



274  AT L A 2020 PROCEEDINGS

The seminary community has repeatedly expressed its thanks 
for our supportive work, and we are so glad to be a small part of 
making the seminary a welcoming, hospitable place for the LGBTQ+ 
community.

To see more photos and examples of our support, visit bit.
ly/3eDCGTe.

http://bit.ly/3eDCGTe
http://bit.ly/3eDCGTe


Posters  275

RESOURCES

There are many ways that you can become a welcoming and support-
ive library. For additional information about how to welcome the 
LGBTQ+ community, see these excellent resources:

• American Library Association. 2015. “Open to All: Serving the 
GLBT Community in Your Library.” www.ala.org/rt/sites/ala.org.
rt/files/content/professionaltools/160309-glbtrt-open-to-all-tool-
kit-online.pdf.

• ———. 2010. “Intellectual Freedom.” www.ala.org/
aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/
section2/53intellfreedom. (See B.2.1.16.)

• ———. n.d. “Libraries Respond: Services to LGBTQ+ People.” 
www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/librariesrespond/Services-
LGBTQ.

• Ciszek, Matthew P. 2015. “The Rainbow Connection: Reference 
Services for the LGBT Community in Academic Libraries.” In 
Rethinking Reference for Academic Libraries: Innovative Develop-
ments and Future Trends, edited by Carrie Forbes and Jennifer 
Bowers, 35–50. London: Roman & Littlefield.

• Symons, Ann and John Freeman. 2015. “Serving Everyone: 
Welcoming the LGBT Community.” American Libraries, June 24, 
2015. americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/06/24/serving-every-
one.

http://www.ala.org/rt/sites/ala.org.rt/files/content/professionaltools/160309-glbtrt-open-to-all-toolkit-on
http://www.ala.org/rt/sites/ala.org.rt/files/content/professionaltools/160309-glbtrt-open-to-all-toolkit-on
http://www.ala.org/rt/sites/ala.org.rt/files/content/professionaltools/160309-glbtrt-open-to-all-toolkit-on
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/53intellfreedom
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/53intellfreedom
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/governance/policymanual/updatedpolicymanual/section2/53intellfreedom
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/librariesrespond/Services-LGBTQ
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/librariesrespond/Services-LGBTQ
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/06/24/serving-everyone/
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2015/06/24/serving-everyone/


276  AT L A 2020 PROCEEDINGS

WORKS CITED

Styberg Library. 2019a. “LGBTQ+ Resource Guide.” guides.garrett.
edu/lgbtq.

———. 2019b. “Welcome & Mission.” library.garrett.edu/about/
welcome-mission.

———. “Update Name Form.” 2020. library.garrett.edu/update-name-
form.

United Methodist Church. 2016. The Book of Discipline of the United 
Methodist Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

http://guides.garrett.edu/lgbtq
http://guides.garrett.edu/lgbtq
http://library.garrett.edu/about/welcome-mission
http://library.garrett.edu/about/welcome-mission
http://library.garrett.edu/update-name-form
http://library.garrett.edu/update-name-form

