“Hard to find”: information barriers among LGBT college students

Published date16 September 2019
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/AJIM-02-2019-0040
Pages601-617
Date16 September 2019
AuthorBrenton Stewart,Kaetrena Davis Kendrick
Subject MatterLibrary & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management
Hard to find:
information barriers
among LGBT college students
Brenton Stewart
School of Library & Information Science,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, and
Kaetrena Davis Kendrick
Medford Library, University of South Carolina Lancaster,
Lancaster, South Carolina, USA
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine collegiate information barriers and perceptions of
academic library climate among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) college students in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach The primary method used for this investigation was an online
crowdsourced survey of 105 participants who attended two and four-year colleges in the USA. The
questionnaire used free word association where participants shared information barriers encountered on
collegescampuses. Responses from each questionnaire were interpreted using open coding.
Findings Information barriers around sexuality continue to be a challenge for non- heteronormative
information seekers on college campuses. One-third of students had distinctive information needs around
their sexuality and experienced information barriers from both the institution and social stigma. The study
reveals an evolution in sexual minority studentssense of self, which has moved beyond the binary identity of
gay/lesbian explored in previous studies; students identified bisexuality as a salient information need, and
described a campus environment that often erased bisexuality. The academic library was described as an
information barrier due to inadequate sexual minority-related resources.
Practical implications Academic librarians as well as higher education professionals, such as
recruitment/admissions officers, student counseling services, student health and student affairs, can leverage
the results of this study to help establish a more inclusive and welcoming information environment that
empowers students for academic and personal success.
Originality/value A limited number of studies in information science have focused on sexual minority
college studentsinformationbehaviors andeven fewer on informationbarriers. Thisstudy presents newinsight
and deeper understanding of the collegiate information environment of LGBT identified students in the USA.
Keywords Information seeking, Academic libraries, Microaggressions, Campus climate, LGBTQ+,
Information barriers
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Despite recent advances in the USA around lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
rights, GLAAD (2018)[1], which examines Americansperceptions of sexual minority
communities, suggests a regressive nation, rapidly retreating in its acceptance. For the first time
in four years, overall acceptance of Americans has declined, while anti-gay discrimination and
assaults have rapidly increased. Beyond this recent decline in acceptance, LGBT college
students have long endured hostile and unwelcoming campus environments, even though the
nation has experienced much social progress over the last decade (Rankin et al., 2010; Seelman
et al., 2017). Since 2007, new tools and resources have emerged: the Campus Pride Index and the
groundbreaking 2010 report State of Higher Education for LGBT People provide queer students
and ally a snapshot of campus climate at institutions across the USA. Yet, both of these
resources ignore the role of academic libraries as distinctive places on college campuses that Aslib Journal of Information
Management
Vol. 71 No. 5, 2019
pp. 601-617
© Emerald PublishingLimited
2050-3806
DOI 10.1108/AJIM-02-2019-0040
Received 15 February 2019
Revised 29 April 2019
28 May 2019
Accepted 5 June 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/2050-3806.htm
This research was supported by funds from the primary authors Russell Long Professorship in
Library & Information Science.
601
Information
barriers among
LGBT college
students
may contribute to studentsperceptions of welcomeness and inclusion. Additionally, they are
silentontheroleofcampusinformationdiffusion and visibility around LGBT studentsissues.
We suggest that college campuses are distinctive spatial information environments, with their
own social norms and mores; within these spaces students often seek information comprised of
andintersectingwithaternaryofneedsincluding academic, personal and employment (Head
and Eisenberg, 2011). However, a limited number of studies in information science have focused
on LGBT college studentsinformation behaviors and even fewer on information barriers.
Information barriers are hindrances or impediments to seeking and/or using information
and manifest as a disruption in the information seeking process (Wilson, 1981, 1997, 1999;
Świgoń, 2011a, b, c; Savolainen, 2016). Barriers can exist as something that is tangible or
incorporeal, such as library anxiety (Świgoń, 2011b) or twentieth century segregation laws
(Knott, 2015). Researchers have created typologies on information barriers in an attempt to
make sense of the vast array of terminology and nuance in research literature (Świgoń,
2011a, b, c; Savolainen, 2016). We adopt Savolainens typology, limited to socio-cultural
barriers, as a framework to help interrupt the information barriers identified in this study.
Socio-cultural information barriers encompass: language, social stigma and cultural taboo,
small world-related barriers, institutional and organizational barriers, and barriers resulting
from a lack of social and economic capital. Savolainen (2016) underscores that socio-cultural
barriers are human-made constructs mainly stemming from social norms and normative
expectations, as well as cultural valuesof privileged communities with the power to erect
barriers, whether intentional or otherwise.
Savolainen (2016) developed the typology to better understand the effects of cultural
valuesand social normson an individuals information access. However, it appears that
very few studies were consulted on LGBT information behaviors in the typologys
development. One study (Veinot, 2009) focused on health information seekingof HIV/
AIDS patients, although it was not entirely clear if these individuals were also sexual
minorities, leaving only Hamers (2003) study as the only obvious example of gay mens
information behaviors sited in the typology. Therefore, we suggest more empirical studies
are needed to deepen our understanding of socio-cultural barriers encountered by LGBT
individuals. In this study, we seek to better understand the information environment in
colleges and universities by examining LGBT studentsperceptions of campus information
barriers. The results of this study will be of interest to academic librarians and also a broad
constituency of professionals in higher education including recruitment or admissions
officers, student counseling services, student health and student affairs.
Literature review
For nearly 40 years, research pertaining to the information needs and behaviors of LGBT
information seekers has circulated, albeit irregularly, in library and information science (LIS)
journals. Since Sanford Bermans groundbreaking The Joy of Cataloging, in the early1980s, this
research thread has primarily emphasized everyday information needs of the general public
and manifest in public libraries. Other studies have focused on subject analysis and library
catalogs (Olson, 1998; Bates and Rowley, 2011; Adler, 2009, 2017), health information needs
(Fikar and Latrina, 2004; Morris and Roberto, 2016), everyday life (Yeh, 2008) and collection
development and reference (Ciszek,2011; Mehra and Braquet, 2011). The following discussion
presents a literature review on LGBTQ+college students and their information needs.
Wexelbaum (2018) presented a critique of the historic ideal type that libraries save
[LGBT] liveswith a literature review on LGBT undergraduates and information needs.
Wexelbaums analysis posits this outmoded belief is based on pre-internet era data, and not
applicable to todays web- and mobile-oriented information environment. Additionally,
Wexelbaum suggests that much of the labor in establishing a safe space environment is
likely performed by LGBT resource centers (where available), and not academic libraries.
602
AJIM
71,5

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT