Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Themed Materials in the Public Libraries in Turkey

Abstract

This paper aims to explore gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual (GLB) themed printed materials found in all public libraries in the city of Istanbul affiliated with the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Firstly, we searched the online catalogues of all 36 public libraries in Istanbul affiliated with the Ministry. A total of 26 GLB-themed printed materials owned by only 2 libraries in all public libraries in Istanbul were identified. Next, we compiled a checklist from all issues of Kaos GL Journal published by The Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Organization from 1994 to 2012 in order to demonstrate whether GLB-themed materials are adequate in satisfying GLB individuals’ needs in Turkey. After we compiled the checklist, we identified 124 GBL-themed printed books published in Turkey. Finally, we compared the materials in the checklist to the materials in all public libraries in Istanbul. As a result, we found that there was no GLB-themed book at 33% of all public libraries affiliated with the Ministry in Istanbul. Furthermore, there was only one widely held GLB-themed item, owned by 61% of all public libraries in Istanbul. This paper indicates that there are not enough GLB-themed materials to meet the information needs of GLB individuals in the public libraries affiliated with the Ministry in Turkey. This paper proposes that public librarians are key actors in providing appropriate information resources for the solutions of the problems faced by GLB individuals