Guest Column. Submitted by Joel Bangilan.
Few libraries across the country orchestrate as extensive an observation of Pride Month as San Antonio Public Library. For the past five years Pride has been a rewarding and validating endeavor for the library system. Diversity is not always black and white. Diversity encompasses race, religion, socio-economics, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and age. As a part of San Antonio Public Library’s Celebrate Diversity initiatives, Pride identifies and highlights the contributions of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex community. In 2011 the Advocate declared San Antonio the US city with the highest percentage of same sex parents[i]. The LGBTI community experienced a major breakthrough in being included in the city’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance in 2013. That moment was perceived as a step to inclusion. Additionally,
Washington D.C.-based Witeck Communications reports the total buying power of the U.S. adult LGBT population at a whopping $790 billion in 2012. The adult population of San Antonio city proper represents roughly 0.4 percent of the U.S. adult population, and so Alamo LGBTs wield an estimated aggregate disposable personal income of $3.3 billion. That sum equals 144 percent of the City of San Antonio’s entire expenditure budget for fiscal year 2013.[ii]
San Antonio’s LGBTI community is growing in its visibility, influence, and presence. Although quite influential, the LGBTI community is often invisible, marginalized, or underserved. Pride events at the library reach out to the community. The events are a part of a program that affirms that the library and its resources are accessible to all community members. The library’s goals in planning and producing programs directed to the LGBTI community include recognizing the LGBTI community and its contributions to society, providing transformative relevant information, and strategizing awareness of a direct service to target populations and residents. Through collaborations with community organizations such as Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the Human Rights Campaign, the San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce and other agencies, allies, and advocates the library collected community resources and created a series of events that opened dialogue, created understanding, and built tolerance.
In 2014, staff collected resources from the community and provided an extended experience with the collection to bring awareness of very heavy issues and concerns. The series started with Come OUT.  The library gathered neighboring faith communities and resources from religious organizations and produced a panel discussion about being gay and being a person of faith. The library had panelists from Metropolitan Community Church, Temple Beth-El, and the Awakening Spiritual Community to discuss being a person of faith and LGBTI.  Later in the month the library presented Watch OUT, a screening of the documentary “The New Blackâ€.   The screening was followed by Stand OUT, a discussion about the film. The documentary explores the relationship between the African American community, the LGBTI community, and faith organizations in the midst of the marriage equality struggles in Maryland. The library provided a forum for a very courageous conversation. The next event, Work OUT, involved elements of economic development in our city. The SA LGBT Chamber of Commerce discussed the benefits of diversity in business. Speak OUT focused on the legal rights of the LGBTI community in family law, visitation rights, marriage, wills, insurance, and financial planning. A Very Gay Fiesta was a collaboration with Trinity University. The LGBTI community has long had an influence in the city’s favorite celebration and the research of Amy Stone revealed the extent and delight of this history. Act OUT featured The Playhouse San Antonio’s selections in their 2014- 2015 season. The LGBTI community has been most welcomed in the artistic, entertainment, and creative industries. The Playhouse as a partner in recognizing cultural and artistic assets in theater and drama was pivotal to providing relevant information that delighted and entertained. At all of the events, the library partnered with the Metropolitan Heath District HIV and AIDS Prevention Office to provide screenings. This element was introduced to destigmatize HIV testing. Earlier the library and MHD collaborated to produce an informational book marker that indicated resources for people diagnosed with the virus. It serves as a pathfinder to library health resources for both treating the disease and the psychological and sociological impacts. The book marker is further extended by “Living with AIDSâ€, a related library page revealing more resources.
Finally, the library participated in the recent opening of the Pride Center. The library was one of the few city services that were invited to the event. Library staff reached out to over two hundred people through the event. The community saw the library’s presence there as a validation and acknowledgement of a community that is often overlooked or underserved. The library’s presence was perceived as one of the city’s steps in recognizing the LGBTI community.
The goals of the program were not just to get people in the door or have overflowing events. The goals include outcomes that show growth in tolerance and understanding in the city and to demonstrate that the library is accessible and relevant to all people.  The library and the community partners worked to saturate the media and publicity avenues. The allies often posted on social media the events and distributed the information over their own mailing lists. The library secured mention in two television spots, the mainstream daily newspaper, the alternative monthly, and the two main online publications serving the LGBTI community.  The press coverage not only served to promote the events but also signaled to the target community that the library is inclusive. This coverage also impacts the number of complaints stemming from anti-LGBTI bigotry. Over the past five years, complaints that have been tracked against Pride events have dwindled from ten in an earlier year to just one in 2014. One conclusion that librarians can draw is that tolerance has possibly increased in the public consciousness. In a city of over 1 million people, ten complaints are nearly negligible and show little support for the discontinuation of Pride programming. The tide of anti-LGBTI bigotry in the city’s informational landscape is changing.
Attendance at the programs fluctuated, yet for specifically targeted adult programming in this city some the audience numbers are commendable.  The raw numbers of attendance in this year demonstrates nothing more than the success of the publicity. Feedback from the audience demonstrated the desired outcomes. Below is a head count of the attendees to the pride programs.
Pride Event Attendance
| Come OUT | 10 | |
| Work OUT | 9 | |
| Watch OUT | 30 | |
| Stand OUT | 14 | |
| A Very Gay Fiesta | 12 | |
| Speak OUT | 11 | |
| Act OUT | 20 | |
| Reach OUT | 60 | |
| 166 | ||
Although not an unwieldy number, the outcomes were just as impactful. Some of the audience members were extremely encouraging with their comments about repeating the events, appreciating that the library did such events and offered such information, and expressed satisfaction that the city would be so interested in the community. Many told us stories of personal experiences at the library that were less than stellar, yet they saw these programs as relevant and important and an opportunity to use the libraries again. One man simply attended because he felt that it was important to support his community although he did not anticipate the event to be of personal interest. Â From the feedback we also gathered other ideas for even more relevant topics to follow.
As time progresses, we may see that more and more will come to expect that the library conduct such programs. Â The LGBTI community will only continue to come out and be visible. They are already an integral part of the community. Diversity and inclusion, especially in the information landscape and the warehouse of knowledge that the library represents, strengthens the culture and society. Libraries should not shy away from the controversial. Instead libraries should manage the information, provide and abundance of perspectives, and include many facets of culture. Â When all perspectives are available, the view on the world is far clearer.
[i] Advocate Editors. “Gay Parents Rule in San Antonio.” Advocate. January 24, 2011. Advocate.com. July 2, 2014. http://www.advocate.com/news/daily-news/2011/01/24/gay-parents-rule-san-antonio.
[ii] Wright, Jeffrey. “Can SA’s ‘Gay Dollar’ Make Policy Impact?†San Antonio Current. June 26, 2013. SACurrent.com July 2, 2014. http://sacurrent.com/news/can-sa-s-gay-dollar-make-policy-impact-1.1510269
