A Catholic University Library's Role in Supporting LGBTQ+ Students

Although there have been gradual progressive attitudinal shifts (Garvey, Sanders, & Flint, 2017), LGBTQ+ students experience a chillier campus climate (Beemyn & Rankin, 2011; Garvey, Viray, Stango, Estep, & Jaeger, 2019; Rankin, 2005; Rankin, Weber, Blumenfeld, & Frazer, 2010) due to persistent experiences of violence, intimidation, and aggression (Bieschke, Eberz, & Wilson, 2000; Greathouse et al., 2018; Rankin et al., 2010) than their cisgender and straight-identified counterparts. This climate has had adverse effects on LGBTQ+ students' experiences and participation in curricular (Linley & Nguyen, 2015) and cocurricular (Bazarsky, Morrow, & Javier, 2015; Rankin, Hesp, & Weber, 2013) contexts as well as their overall sense of belonging (Budge, Dominguez, & Goldberg, 2020; Strayhorn, 2012; Vaccaro & Newman, 2017). Catholic institutions associated with religious orders such as the Jesuits, Benedictines, and Marianists may be more likely to support LGBTQ+ community issues (McEntarfer, 2011; Yoakam, 2006). Yet even LGBTQ+ students at Catholic institutions with more inclusive policies and services, dedicated resource centers, and student organizations, report frequent microaggressions (Hughes, 2019). This article reports on the challenges facing LGBTQ+ students at Catholic institutions and how one institution's library is reckoning with how to ally with and for these students.