Reading Rainbow: Examining Self-Censorship Practices of Middle & High School Libraries Toward LGBTQIA+ YA Literature in Wake & Gaston County, NC (2024)

Undergraduate: Elias Horowitz

Faculty Advisor: William Goldsmith
Department: Public Policy

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This poster summarizes an investigation of Wake and Gaston County middle and high school library collection catalogs for evidence of self-censorship of LGBTQIA+ representative literature and a survey of school librarians on the impacts of book challenges on collection behaviors. This research built upon the methodology of Ken P. Coley (2002) and utilized a collection list search for 25 LGBTQIA+ representative middle grades and YA books (represented by Stonewall Award winning books from the past decade) and 25 popular, non-LGBTQIA+ representative middle grades and YA books highly recommended by librarians. Combining these methodologies, this research provides insight into the current state of queer representation and censorship in public school libraries in two counties amidst rising book challenges in the state of North Carolina. This research was funded as a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship through the generosity of the UNC Chapel Hill Office of Undergraduate Research.

Link to Abstract