I have been working in the library field as an assistant for about six years now. In addition to providing assistance to patrons at the circulation desk at least one day a week, I also help with cataloging, maintaining and developing collections, notarizing documents for visitors, and running two library sponsored, bi-weekly programs. While I may not consider myself much of a leader, it may be fair to say that I have at least some experience in leadership roles; however, being a leader in the library field is not one of my ambitions.

 

A particular issue that has always been important to me is visibility for many different demographics, particularly marginalized ones. My time studying library and information science has given me opportunities to look into the issues of disability access and LGBTQ+ representation in library settings. I wanted to look into how well certain large institutions—such as the National Archives, the Library of Virginia, etc.—were able to accommodate disabled visitors, and what potential measures these institutions can make to further improve accommodations. I explored these concepts in a few previous assignments which appear on this site, including one of my final projects (July 2023) and in my “Missions, Values, and Strategic Plan” report (March 2023).

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Additionally, as mentioned before, visibility of queer literature and media was also a key issue for me. Not only am I a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but I also am painfully aware of many various governments and organizations attempts to suppress literature that elevates queer voices, especially within the last few years. While I live in a relatively small and rural area in Virginia, it is still vital to consider the needs of queer members of the community. I took it upon myself to look into how well my library represents queerness through its collections (August 2025), and I also discussed various primary and secondary resources that talked about the issues of censorship that have plagued authors and librarians for decades (July 2025).

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Libraries have long boasted being, for lack of a better term, safe spaces for all walks of life. And while I believe that many, if not most institutions do whatever they can to live up to that reputation for their respective communities, I also believe that there is room for improvement. Particularly with disability access and queer representation, more can be done to understand what these demographics need from the library field, whether it is in the form of collection development, new exhibitions, or additional resources. I want to continue to learn about how the library and information field can do better by all members of their communities, even in the years to come.

 

 

 

References:

Coburn, K. (5 March, 2023). Mission, values, and strategic plan. Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies, Old Dominion University. https://www.kateatthelibrary.com/artifact-6-mission-values-and-strategic-plan.

Coburn, K. (30 July, 2023). Archives and accessibility. Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies, Old Dominion University. https://www.kateatthelibrary.com/artifact-3-archives-and-accessibility.

Coburn, K. (20 July, 2025). Censorship and suppression of LGBTQ+ media and literature : An annotated bibliography. Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies, Old Dominion University. https://www.kateatthelibrary.com/artifact-5-censorship-and-suppression-of-lgbtq-media.

Coburn, K. (10 August, 2025). The Lancaster Community Library, the Northern Neck & the queer community : A collection analysis. Department of STEM Education and Professional Studies, Old Dominion University. https://www.kateatthelibrary.com/artifact-1-the-lancaster-community-library-and-the-queer-community.