libraries made me gay.
Here’s what’s at stake as the Trump White House takes aim at library funding.
Queering the Burbs is a distillation of pop culture, politics and queerness published twice weekly by Joe Erbentraut. If you like what you see, please consider subscribing (many posts are free!), liking or sharing this piece, or buying me a coffee. Order Joe’s new zine, Issue #01, here.
In retrospect, I suppose it was really only a matter of time before this administration targeted libraries as part of its quest to starve all but the richest, straightest, and whitest Americans of federal support.
On Friday evening, when experts always advise politicians to drop their most popular moves, the Trump White House announced an executive order that would eliminate seven different federal government agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, to help “reduce the scope of the federal bureaucracy.”
The IMLS is a relatively small federal office with a big impact. Established in 1996, the agency is the main source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. It was established under President Clinton in 1996 with a mission to improve library services nationwide, to facilitate further access to resources inside libraries, and to encourage resource sharing both among libraries, and between museums and libraries, in addition to a number of other museum-specific goals.
As outlined on the IMLS website, the agency offered grants and programs such as its Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian program, which offered training and development support for librarians across the country, and its Native American Librarian Service programs, which sought to increase library services in tribal communities.
But all of that support appears to be at risk now. A statement released Saturday by the American Library Association said the order was “cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer.” The ALA urged Americans to “show up for libraries” and contact their elected officials about the order in an effort to protect their communities’ libraries.
To be clear, public libraries are overwhelmingly supported by local and state funding, but any impact to funding streams will still be felt by all but the richest local library districts—and some states might follow this lead, too. The library system in Des Moines, Iowa is already facing its own funding cuts resulting in the loss of its first-ever staff social worker. Libraries in Everett, Washington are reducing their staffing and hours due to budget cuts. And public libraries in Hawaii are also facing major state funding cuts.
When we starve our libraries of resources, we starve our communities of hope. As the ALA points out, libraries these days are not only serving as a place to go and check out books, but also as a resource center for job hunters, an access point for Wi-Fi and community connection, and endless other things. In addition to all of this, libraries have also been forced to stand their ground in recent years as they’ve been targeted by Christian nationalists for carrying pro-queer and pro-trans books on their shelves, even sometimes facing bomb threats for doing so.
For me, going to the library as a young kid offered me a view of a bigger world beyond my small town. I remember getting my first library card so that I could read and check out endless piles of books. Once I was even so annoyed by a local bookmobile’s limit on the number of books that could be checked out at one time that I snuck out several under my jacket (don’t worry, I promptly admitted this to my mom and went back to return them).
At a library, I paged through glossy magazines that showcased a way of life that was unfamiliar to me. At a library, I competed as part of my school’s Battle of the Books program, answering trivia questions about a list of 50-some books we were expected to read on top of our school work. At a library, I logged onto the internet for the very first time, reading every detail I could find of figure skating news throughout the world (obviously).
As a queer kid, libraries offered a safe space, too. I dreamed of one day having a personal library with a ladder on wheels just like Belle in Beauty and the Beast (just me?) I always felt kinship with their staff, and developed a special bond with my elementary school’s librarian. When I was feeling overwhelmed and lonely because I wasn’t fitting in with the other kids, I’d climb the creaky steps to the school’s library to disappear into a book for as long as I could get away with it. Even in high school, I’d show up early to school to read, finish up homework, or browse the internet for a moment of calm before the day fully began.
These spaces were a nest to me, nurturing my budding queerness and feeding my insatiable hunger for knowledge to make sense of what I couldn’t yet name what was growing outside of me. Libraries were my chance to connect to a party line and search for a signal that there were other people out there like me, that everything was going to be alright.
I want to live in a world where our libraries thrive as one of the purest examples of what can happen when communities come together and decide that something is a shared priority. I mean, just look at these photos of epically gorgeous libraries around the world and tell me why we shouldn’t all aspire to this? I want to live in a world where these libraries can continue to be safe spaces for queer kids, poor folks, and anyone else who is desperately in need of a third place that doesn’t necessitate spending any money to be there. I want to live in a world where these spaces and the professionals who maintain them are celebrated, and not painted as some kind of enemy of the state.
While there are so many problems right now that don’t seem to have a clear or immediate solution, I know this one does have some clear action items that can at least help in the short term. Go and support your local library, right now. If you don’t have a card, get one. If you haven’t checked something out for a while, do it. Beyond the typical fare of books and movies, browse your library’s website to see what else might be available—like Libby and OverDrive for audiobooks and ebooks, or Kanopy for free online streaming of movies and TV shows.
Supporting your local library in times like these isn’t just about supporting the library and its staff, as important as that is in and of itself. It’s also about supporting the queer kids—maybe even your own inner child—who rely on these libraries as a place to feel more like themselves, and to learn about the bigger world out there filled with people who want them to thrive and survive. If for no one else, do it for them.
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SONG OF THE RIGHT-NOW
I don’t know if the mercury retrograde, the blood moon eclipse, the wild weather we’ve been having, or anything else astrological is to blame but I’ve certainly been in a mood lately, and so I’m feeling drawn to angstier sounds as a result. This new song from Brooklyn-based queer rock band Model/Actriz is scratching the itch right now. It just feels correctly chaotic for this present moment in time where I think the universe is calling on us all to be bigger, badder, and at least a little bit gayer.
You make me want to be ready
I feel different now than I did before
I can see how my power
Only was my fear of betrayal
P.S. Don’t forget! The Book Fair & Brews event is taking place this Sunday at Hearth & Hammer in Batavia. I’ll be there bringing Scholastic Book Fair vibes along with 35+ other local authors split between Hearth & Hammer and Sturdy Shelter Brewing down the street. I’ll be popping up with Annie Hex and debuting three new Queering the Burbs stickers (!) available for sale for the first time, along with my zine, my Brat-inspired buttons, and more. See you there.
I had no idea that, among all the other horrors, Trump is also coming for the libraries. Thank you for this call to action and for the education! Also…a lovely story of a childhood 💜