This session will begin by providing basic definitions and descriptions that cisgender people (people who identify with their gender assigned at birth) may be unfamiliar with. These definitions will provide attendees with the language to use when talking about transgender topics.

We will be providing specific, concrete examples to make your academic library more trans friendly, such as building alliances with LGBTQ student groups, providing pronoun buttons, and more. This presentation will emphasize free or low cost resources for libraries to make their spaces more accessible and safe for trans people.

Our goal for this session is to familiarize library staff with basic transgender concepts and language, to more fully empower them to serve a diverse population. Attendees will be provided resources to further build their knowledge and resources going forward.

This session was presented live and recorded at TCAL 2020 on August 12, 2020.
Click here to access the recorded session.
Click here to access the presentation transcript

Franklin Ofsthun – Library Service Specialist, Universities at Shady Grove
Franklin Ofsthun is a library service specialist at Priddy Library, a branch library of UMD which serves Universities at Shady Grove students. He is studying to get his MLIS at UMD. His professional interests include student employee development, sustainability, and research.

Sidney Champagne – Resource Sharing Coordinator, Maryland Institute College of Art
Sid Champagne is currently an MLIS student at UMD, where they study youth experience and diversity and inclusion. They are a practicing illustrator, comic reader, and amateur chef. They live with their cat Jonathan in Baltimore, MD.