‘‘ I


It was great to do something so small for these students that I know meant a whole lot to them. INSIGHT


LGBTQ+ Network


Gender identity and the library management system


worked in a girls’ high school library for over three years in New Zealand, and you’d think all the students were girls, right?


They weren’t. They identified in as wide a spectrum as the general population. And the Ministry of Education (NZ) gathers this type of data on student gender, so that when a student enrols in a school they have multiple options to choose from. This is great! So why doesn’t our Library Management System (LMS) provide all of these gender options in its user profiles?


In 2020, as library manager, I wrote to our LMS provider with the following:


‘Female’, ‘Male’ and ‘None’ are not adequate options to express the gender diversity that is now recognised within our communities. Our school has six different options for gender in our new online enrollment application form. I would love to be able to express this information accurately within our LMS.


It would be great if the information that is


held in [our student management system] about a student regarding their gender actually came across into [our LMS] instead of defaulting, in our case, to female.


I would be happy to discuss this with you further, and look forward to hearing from you on this matter.


The reply I got: they’d pass it on to their Gender selection panel on the website.


developers to look at in the future. But nothing has happened.


And the future is now! I did more than just write an email. I went to the school’s rainbow group and let them know that I only had three options (Female/Male/None) but that, if it was helpful for any of them, they could come to me in private and ask to have their gender changed on the LMS and this would not be seen by anyone else.


It would also not be connected with, nor change what their gender was listed as on the school’s student management system. More students than I thought took up the offer: ‘None’ was a valid option for some when I’d thought it was wholly unsatisfactory as a gender description, which shows that it’s up to each individual to decide what works for them. It was great to do something so small for these students that I know meant a whole lot to them. They were recognised, supported, validated and could count on the library being a safe space. You should have seen their smiles! And while I know that this positive step I took in my home country of New Zealand three years ago may be against new guidance for schools in the UK - reports suggest that schools in England would have to “inform parents if a young person seeks to change their name or starts wearing different uniform. Teachers would be instructed not to use a new name or pronoun at a pupil’s request until they have obtained parental consent”


Kirsten Elliot, MCILIP (@ciliplgbtq) is Digital Champion for the CILIP LGBTQ+ Network.


(https://tinyurl.com/55june8c), I would still urge you to look at the gender options in your LMS.


Do they accurately reflect your library community?


Because this is not just an issue for school libraries. It’s for all libraries and the Library Management Systems that are inadequate at recording such basic information as gender.


Please write to your LMS provider and ask them to step up


The LGBTQ+ Network is one of CILIP’s three Diversity Networks. We provide guidance on LGBTQ+ issues, support, and a safe space for library, information and knowledge workers who identify as LGBTQ+ to share knowledge and experiences. And you don’t have to be a CILIP member to join!


To learn more, find us on: l Twitter – @ciliplgbtq l Facebook – CILIP Lgbtq+ l web – www.cilip.org.uk/lgbtq l email – ciliplgbtqnetwork@cilip.org.uk


Also, we currently have roles on the LGBTQ+ Network Committee and would love you to volunteer with us. Please see the link for details: https:// informationprofessionaljobs.com/jobs/cilip-lgbtq- network-jobs/em-CILIP-LGBTQ~2B-Network/ IP


July-August 2023 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL 27


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