Shelved and silenced: How geography and gatekeeping limit LGBTQ+ stories in school libraries: Analyzing access to LGBTQ+ literature in rural, suburban, and urban areas

Structural and social inequalities persist in school libraries often resulting from various types of censorship. Books may be challenged, banned, fully censored, or soft-censored by community and/or district stakeholders, with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, plus (LGBTQ+)-themed literature disproportionately targeted. Such actions restrict student access to diverse materials and can deepen feelings of invisibility, limit opportunities for identity affirmation and empathy-building, and reinforce school climates in which LGBTQ+ students may feel less safe, supported, or represented. This quantitative study examines the inclusion and availability of LGBTQ+-themed literature in 200 public high school libraries across Texas, analyzing the number and types of LGBTQ+ books (fiction, nonfiction, and reference/biographies), and comparing access across urban, suburban, and rural settings. Results reveal significant disparities, with rural schools notably underrepresented. Rather than simply affirming the value of diverse and inclusive collections, the findings point to persistent gaps in the availability and discoverability of LGBTQ+ materials, particularly in rural school libraries, underscoring the need for targeted collection development, equitable access policies, and additional research into the structural and geographic barriers shaping students’ access to affirming literature.