Librarians speak out

The New York Times recently interviewed dozens of attendees at the American Library Association's conference in Chicago, and published this compendium of short profiles. As the article notes, these librarians came from rural towns and major cities, elementary schools and universities, local branches and big government agencies.

Speaking as someone who worked in college libraries at a small institution (Centenary College, undergraduate) and a large one (George Washington University, grad school), I loved this heartwarming piece! It reminds me of so many librarians I've known over the years. So I wanted to share it with you all, even though it only has one interview centered on LGBTQ literature:

"A boy checked out a graphic novel about two boys who fall in love. He told me he’d never felt seen before in our tiny conservative Texas town. He was getting bullied and targeted for being who he was. The next year, when he went to high school, he sent me an email saying that having access to books like that made him feel seen and validated. He went on to shine."

Amanda Hunt, Central Texas school librarian