Att utpeka för att inkludera : En intervjustudie om folkbibliotekens regnbågshyllor

Sammanfattning: Some Swedish public libraries choose to have their LGBTQ-litterature on a certain shelf. Using qualitative interviews we sought to understand what six patrons with a personal investment in LGBTQ matters expect from the collection. We aim to examine what thoughts, feelings and perceptions they have concerning the LGBTQ-shelf (regnbågshylla). Does the shelf contribute to a more normcritical approach, or does it compromise LGBTQ-patrons right to privacy? The results show an ambivalence: a majority of the informants did not want the shelf, stating it to be too much of a statement using it. Although the shelf in itself was criticized the informants saw it as an appreciated initiative from the library. Using queer theory as a theoretical framework we learned about how our informants reasoned about the LGBTQ-shelf. We have come to the conclusion that the patrons would prefer that the LGBTQ- themed literature was a part of the regular collection. However all the informants praised the idea of a digital LGBTQ-shelf as an alternative to the physical shelf.