Coming Out of the Closet: Librarian Advocacy to Advance LGBTQ+ Wikipedia Engagement
ISBN: 978-1-78756-474-9, eISBN: 978-1-78756-473-2
Publication date: 1 May 2019
Abstract
This chapter addresses the current state of librarian participation in the global lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+ (LGBTQ+) Wikipedia engagement efforts and proposes an extended librarian advocacy to advance LGBTQ+ rights and concerns. The author provides a brief history of global LGBTQ+ Wikipedia engagement, librarian involvement in Wikipedia, and librarian participation in global LGBTQ+ Wikipedia initiatives. In the process, the author examines the underrepresentation and invisibility of librarians in global LGBTQ+ Wikipedia engagement efforts and Wikipedia initiatives in general, as well as the barriers that librarians face in becoming active Wikipedian librarians. Based on a review of the literature, the analysis of data gathered from Wikipedia, and the author’s own experiences as an LGBTQ+ Wikipedian librarian, the author recommends strategies for librarians to advocate for and include global LGBTQ+ Wikipedia engagement in their professional practice.
Keywords
Citation
Wexelbaum, R. (2019), "Coming Out of the Closet: Librarian Advocacy to Advance LGBTQ+ Wikipedia Engagement", Mehra, B. (Ed.) LGBTQ+ Librarianship in the 21st Century: Emerging Directions of Advocacy and Community Engagement in Diverse Information Environments (Advances in Librarianship, Vol. 45), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 115-139. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0065-283020190000045011
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019 Emerald Publishing Limited