Call to Action: Stop Asking For People's Gender on Library Card Applications

Last week I was talking with a colleague who is a library worker in another state and she was updating me on their struggle to remove the gender check boxes from their library card applications. Like many things in libraries, even though the administration cannot come up with a compelling reason as to why they need this information, trying to undo the, "but we have always gathered it" or "we'd have to change the entire application" arguments are hard in libraries. Inertia is the motto and change freaks people out. Even in cases like this, where some of our patrons are being hurt by having to make a choice, a choice that we do not need, we keep forcing staff to enforce this,

I was upset by the situation and the way it defines library work in general. I am not someone who is afraid of change, rather I relish the chance to try something new, especially when someone points out that what I am doing could be done better. But as I learned as a manager, this attitude is not only NOT shared by my colleagues, but also it has be used against me as I have been chastised [more than once] for making employees feel uncomfortable for trying to "force change."

But lucky for me and all of you, I work for myself these days and I don't have to hold back. But, my frustrated colleague does. So I took my frustrations to Twitter. Here is the link to my original Tweet which includes the replies.

Becky Spratford

@RAforAll

Because it came up yesterday- reminder that your library card applications do NOT need a section on “gender.” Seriously, what does that have to do with borrowing privileges? Address, name, a form of contact, yes. Gender, no.

Before I continue, I want to make it clear to my readers who are ready to jump on me to tell me that I do not understand why gender is part of the application, please remember, I am also a 20 year library trustee and a member of a larger state library system board. So come at me with your arguments as to why you NEED to have gender on your library card applications because I know you actually do NOT need it for any good reason. Even the state library doesn't collect that data point.

I have a platform to call out our missteps, to encourage everyone to do better, and to not let you all get away with being stupid and ignorant. So today, a lesson on why you don't need to collect gender identity for library card applications AND a discussion of things we do not collect, but should.

First. Do not reply to this call to action with the solution that you can keep the gender box and simply add more options. No. Just No. And here's why.

1. Tell me why you need gender at all again? You don't have a good reason to collect this to provide library services. As I said in the Tweet, we need an address to prove you live in the community which that library serves. We need a way to contact you. We need your name as it appear on the ID you used to get the card [more on this in a moment]. Why are we asking for information we do not need? Stop. We don't need it. End of discussion.
2. Adding more options is counter intuitive to what you are trying to do. We are not trying to be inclusive by asking them to check one of like 5 boxes [in fact, if you do this you will still need to ad an "other" box if your goal is inclusivity], rather we are making them uncomfortable by forcing a choice at all. And again, WE DON'T NEED ANY OF THIS INFO. Don't bring it up. It is not our business. Do we ask their marital status? NO. Do we ask their eye color? NO. Weight and height? NO. Because we don't need those. We are not a drivers license. Stop with your gatekeeping nonsense. Gender is equivalent to these other questions that we do not ask.

Second. Here is a list of things we currently do not ask for but should because these things would help us serve patrons better and make them more comfortable:

1. Preferred Pronouns
2. Preferred name
3. Pronunciation of name

All three of these things allow us to address patrons in the way they would like to be addressed. It is just simple kindness, and since we are collecting identification info that we need, why not add that which will help them also have a better experience in the process.

Let me tackle why each is important to educate those of you who don't get it. 

Pronouns: Someone I trust recently asked why, I, someone named Becky, clearly a girl name who looks like I identify as a girl, needs to list my pronouns. Isn't that for the people who when you look at them or hear their name, you cannot tell. This is an honest question of someone trying to understand, and many are afraid to ask this question for fear of getting yelled at. Here is the answer, and I won't yell. If we only have those who have pronouns that are perceived as "different" call theirs out then we are still "othering" them. If instead, we normalize everyone listing their preferred pronouns, you will see more that conform than not; therefore, not isolating  or calling out those who are perceived as "different." If we normalize everyone using their pronouns, we also normalize everyone being referred to with words that make them feel valued and whole. I for one am all for people feeling valued and whole.

Preferred name: My daughter goes by a nickname of her given name that is most commonly used by boys. She identifies as female. She loves when there are preferred pronouns and preferred name options. It makes her so happy. Her college does this and it makes her feel so welcome to use her preferred name AND let people know up front that she identifies as female. I also know a lot of people who go by their middle name as their preferred name. I have seen their government issued ID and been shocked that I didn't know their legal name. I bet many of you know someone like this. Why do we make those people feel uncomfortable every time they come in and someone at the desk tries to be nice to call them by their name, but the name we have, the "legal" name is not what they go by? Adding a preferred name entry solves this. Side note: my legal name is Becky, not Rebecca. Don't ask, it was the 70s.

Pronunciation of name: This is just common courtesy to both the person helping the patron and the patron. Why make it difficult. And fill one out for every single person. again to normalize it for everyone. Also,  I have friends with names you would think are easy to pronounce and yet, they pronounce them in a unique way. Interestingly, we are Chicago Bears season ticket holders [no games this year] and they have a player card for each game. We print it off for use at home. It lists the active players on both teams and this year, it included a pronunciation guide. Well done Bears. We greatly appreciated it, as I am sure the players did too.

Look, I am not trying to make people mad today. Well, maybe a little because ignorant people and those who are afraid of change do piss me off. But seriously, stop being a jerk. You don't need to ask for gender. BUT, you do need to ask for these other things. Change it and move on. It takes a few keystrokes and some copies. Start living your life thinking about how to treat people with the respect they deserve as your first instinct, and then think about what information you actually need to administer library cards. That's all I'm asking. 

For past Call to Action posts, click here.