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LIBRARIANS HAVE REPORTED feeling “intense” stress and trauma after being targeted by campaigners who disagree with libraries stocking LGBTQIA material and programming inclusive events, according to a new report.
Several libraries around Ireland have been targeted because they supply LGBTQIA-related reading material or hold drag story events where drag queens or kings (usually men dressed as women or women dressed as men) read age-appropriate stories to children.
In some cases, reading material was burned by protesters and staff were threatened. In July 2023, Cork City Library was forced to close amid fears for employees’ safety due to an anti-LGBTQIA protest.
A number of people have been charged in relation to such incidents in Ireland. The campaign is part of an international trend where libraries in various countries have been targeted.
Anti-trans and anti-LGBT+ misinformation campaigns in Ireland and abroad have attempted to conflate homosexuality with child abuse and implied that children can be manipulated into becoming queer or trans through exposure to the LGBTQIA community.
Research carried out by UCD’s School of Information & Communication Studies highlights the experiences of Ireland’s public library staff as they face “unprecedented challenges stemming from reactionary agitation against LGBTQ+ materials and programming”.
The study, Resisting Hate and Navigating Agitation, will be officially launched in Dublin later today. Its findings are based on in-depth interviews conducted with library staff between June and October 2024.
Multiple participants in the research reported being harassed – either in person, online or over the phone – as part of a concerted campaign targeting libraries. A number of people said they feared for their safety, noting they were called paedophiles or groomers.
The report states that, since 2022, “a coordinated campaign of direct agitation and disruption has targeted several public libraries across Ireland”.
Today’s report says the “most striking theme” that emerged from the interviews relates to “the deep impact” of the agitators’ actions on librarians’ mental state and wellbeing, despite the disruption being driven by a small group of people.
Many of the librarians reported “intense feelings of anger, frustration, stress and trauma”.
One librarian, in a non-managerial role, described what it was like to be accosted by a protester in their workplace:
It’s such a confrontational situation… There is somebody looking you straight in the face and calling you a child abuser.
“It’s just really difficult to deal with.”
Another librarian, this time a manager dealing with phone calls, reported a similar experience of being personally targeted, and the debilitating effect it had on them.
“I spent that whole day being called, like, a groomer… It was really, really full-on.”
Grooming refers to an adult manipulating and coercing a child with the intention of abusing them.
Several other librarians described similar experiences, some of which took place in the presence of children in the library.
The threat of violence and fear of being singled out by protesters were also significant concerns for people who took part in the research.
A number of librarians said they were concerned about being filmed while being confronted, a common tactic used by people who have targeted libraries. This footage is often uploaded to various social media sites.
“If I’m on a video on one of these channels they will pick apart me, and they’ll call me a paedophile,” one librarian noted.
Dr Páraic Kerrigan, who led the research at UCD, told The Journal, despite these incidents, the librarians he spoke to are “still very much committed to providing these services and these programmes for the LGBTQ community”.
However, he noted that libraries now have to put extra security protocols in place and give additional training to staff such as conflict management.
“They have to put a whole host of safeguards and a whole host of training initiatives in place to ensure that staff feel prepared to deal with these situations, and also that patrons are being protected.”
Several librarians said they also feared being physically attacked, especially if they worked in rural libraries where they are sometimes the only member of staff present.
In a bid to combat this, Kerrigan said some rural libraries have developed “buddy systems” with nearby libraries.
“They can literally just say ‘there’s an agitator here’, and someone from the buddy library would come in and arrive to either relieve that staff member or to join them and help them so they are not alone.”
Connections have also been established with local gardaí, who are aware of the issue, Kerrigan added.
Some librarians also reported being afraid to walk to their cars after work, especially if it was dark.
After watching some footage of confrontations uploaded by protesters, one librarian said: “(I) think our staff have watched it and seen how angry the agitators can get, that makes people frightened, you know.
If you see them, they’ll push people. They’ll shove people. They’ll push elderly people.
The report makes a number of recommendations, including that security protocols should be developed and regularly updated at all public libraries “to ensure rapid, coordinated responses to potential threats”.
This should include staff training on incident reporting, procedures for handling disruptive individuals, and regular reviews of emergency preparedness plans in collaboration with local authorities and gardaí.
The researchers also recommend that social media platforms “take a stronger position towards known agitators and their calls for aggression against libraries”. Kerrigan noted that, although small in number, the people who target libraries are “amplified” and “legitimised” by social media.
In June of this year, President Michael D Higgins said that protecting libraries and their staff from “intimidation from protests by far-right groups” is “not just a matter for the gardaí, but for all” of society.
The research published today was conducted by a team of researchers from UCD’s School of Information and Communication, with support from LGBT Ireland and the trade union Fórsa.
Most of the interviews (26) were carried out with public library staff across managerial and non-managerial levels, and three interviews involved external stakeholders.
Richy Carrothers, Head of the Local Government and Local Services division of Fórsa, said the report’s findings “validate and vindicate” the experiences of their members over the past two years.
“This report is very important because it amplifies our members’ voices and highlights the threat that remains live. The local government sector must be proactive and commit to taking every step necessary to protect staff,” he added.
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