LGBT books donated to provincial libraries
The P.E.I. Public Library Service has received a significant donation of books on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.
The donors hope the books will go far in fostering acceptance of LGBT Islanders.
Trina O'Brien Leggott, the chief librarian sorted through a recent donation of 20 boxes of books in the basement of the Confederation Centre Public Library Friday that addressed LGBT issues The books came from the Pat Malone Memorial Library and were held at the AIDS PEI office in Charlottetown.
“They were concerned because it was only in their office in Charlottetown and they have limited hours, and in providing more access to more people, we can certainly do that,” O’Brien Leggot said.
Now, the books are going mainstream and will be spread out across the Island at libraries from Tignish to Souris.
Ray Malone and his late wife Pat co-founded PFLAG — a support for parents and friends of LGBT people.
The collection is named after her, and donating the books to the public library service is a fitting tribute to a woman who worked tirelessly for the rights of LGBT Islanders, Malone believes.
“I feel very honoured for her in her memory. She was a very quiet person, very dedicated, tenacious in what she did, but she was very focused in terms of what her goal was," he said.
While Malone said people are better informed about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, homophobia is still a big issue on P.E.I.
“Some people stand in judgement of people who are identified in these ways, and they think there's something wrong with them, they don't realize they're born this way and that's the way it is,” Malone said.
He hopes the books will play a role in fixing all that.
The library hopes to have the books in circulation across the province within the next few months.
