Published in a Journal

First and foremost, remember that a transgender person is a human being- they are not a freak or “demonic abomination.” They are often very vulnerable as they try to find a solution to a pain they can’t describe. They will probably be embarrassed and afraid. They will make excuses like “it’s for a friend” or “I’m doing a report for school.” It is critical to treat a Transgender person just like any other library patron: with dignity and respect. Also very important: NEVER reveal to others that the patron is transgender if the person confides that to you. The effects could be disastrous for your patron, and could open your library to legal action.





I'm always looking for unique blog posts and Sophie's, Published in a Journal, certainly qualifies.  Sophie was asked to write some guidelines for librarians on dealing with transgender visitors.  How great is that?  I certainly remember spending hours in libraries subtly searching the stacks, in the dark corners, for books that might explain why I am the way I am.

In this post, Sophie explains why she wrote the guidelines and she published what she wrote in her blog.