Regardless of why someone comes into a library, every patron should be free to interact with staff, browse materials, and use the internet without fear of harassment or worse. That freedom depends on libraries upholding patron privacy.
With nearly 400 active anti-trans bills pending in state legislatures as of April 2024, it is a dangerous time in the US to be gender nonconforming, someone whose gender expression does not align with the traditional male or female binary. And for trans people of color, studies show the risk of discrimination and violence is higher.
For library workers, a vital part of protecting trans patrons is carefully handling their personal information. Below are categories of sensitive information that should be considered in order to recognize gender diversity in data collection policies and procedures.
Name. Trans patrons have privacy vulnerabilities that most others don’t, such as having an ID that lists their sex assigned at birth or deadname, the name they used prior to transition. Knowing a deadname, especially of someone who is stealth—someone who is not open about their transition and is assumed to be cisgender—can lead to security issues. Do not use their deadname without permission.
For example, a feminine-presenting person comes into the library for a card and writes her name, Stacy. She is a trans woman and uses she/her pronouns. One of her documents has her deadname, David. This kind of situation can be scary for a trans person because it outs them as trans. This can lead to teasing, harassment, or physical harm.
Libraries should consider updating policies and patron information forms, such as adding fields for “preferred name” or “name you would like to be called” so staff members do not feel they have to collect someone’s deadname. If you must record it for legal purposes, put it in a separate place on the person’s record to lessen their risk of being outed.
Trans patrons have privacy vulnerabilities that most others don’t.
Gender identity. If a patron’s assigned sex at birth does not match how they present their gender, regardless of their gender, this can lead to the same safety problems as with their deadname. If possible, remove all gendered questions from library forms. Do you really need to know that information?
This isn’t always possible. For example, I work within North Carolina’s Cardinal library system, which is a consortium that collects data for US Census Bureau records. In this case, advocate for adding “nonbinary” as a third gender option, which our system now has. Even better would be adding “do not wish to disclose” as a fourth option. Nonbinary is an umbrella term that does not cover everyone, but it shows support for the community.
Library use. Safeguarding checkout history is always important, but this is especially true with minors. For trans people who are not out and are reading books like Dennis Baron’s What’s Your Pronoun? Beyond He and She or She/He/They/Me by Robyn Ryle, access to this information could out them earlier than they planned. This could lead to violence against them; it may even be life-threatening if they are not in a safe home environment.
Librarians should never judge anyone by their checkouts. Patrons—including those exploring information on gender expression—should be able to privately keep a record of what they’re reading. If your library system keeps checkout information past the point of an item being returned, fix that. Prioritize privacy for inquiries about library records. ALA’s website has helpful resources about what to do if records are subpoenaed.
Privacy is important for all patrons but especially for vulnerable populations. Ideally, libraries can move toward data collection systems that don’t hold information that could be used to target the gender-diverse community. But until then, it’s up to us to ensure the utmost protection.
