“It’s hard to know what we should be doing”: LGBTQ+ students’ library privacy in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Given both the historical and ongoing surveillance and policing of marginalized communities, contact tracing, and other pandemic control measures pose additional dangers to marginalized communities that are not faced by members of dominant communities. While privacy rights have been a point of controversy and uncertainty for all in the face of digital surveillance and the exigencies of the pandemic, LGBTQ+ students may well struggle to assert even those rights to which they are unquestionably entitled. Utilizing a multi-method, multidisciplinary approach, this research examined the information and privacy risks imposed upon or heightened for LGBTQ+ university students by COVID-19, with a focus on the roles of libraries and librarians. This study revealed while the library community has a desire to support its LGBTQ+ patrons, there are less consistently available knowledge and resources, particularly with regards to COVID-19 specific concerns, such as contact tracing.