Hi Kim,
My library has a monthly program for LGBTQ+ teens (called Alphabet Soup) and we have many younger teens who participate. I asked our librarians who coordinate the program if they had any resources they would recommend and here is the response I received from one of them:
A good portion of our Alphabet Soup attendees are in middle school. The biggest resource that Alphabet Soup provides is a safe, affirming place where teens can just have fun. We bring in LGBTQ+ members of the community who have skills they can teach, we play games and watch movies. When we do have guest speakers we have a very detailed questionnaire and agreement form for them to fill out. As for being affirming in general, even outside of Alphabet Soup, we make sure to ask any newcomers their name and pronouns and make sure to respect those. Becca and Maddie have lots of affirming signage in the Canteena, like rainbow flags and the trans pride flag. I am sure Becca has more to add on this!
I would recommend they reach out to their local Pride Center: http://daytonlgbtcenter.org/ The Utah Pride Center has been particularly helpful to the library.
As for helpful online resources:
https://www.glsen.org/ is really good and has four Ohio chapters, GLSEN has a K-12 focus so there should be resources for pre-teens
Hope that helps!
If I receive a response from any of our other teen librarians I'll send that along too.
Best,
Patrick
------------------------------
Patrick Hoecherl
Staff Development Coordinator
Salt Lake City Public Library
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: Feb 11, 2020 05:32 PM
From: Kim Bishop
Subject: working with trans pre-teens and teens in public libraries
Does anyone know of speakers, curriculum, webinars, or other resources on this topic? I've been able to find quite a bit for older teens and young adults, but virtually nothing on younger youth (9-12 yo). I looked at the resources provided by the Emerging Leaders for EDI (and it is amazing), but still doesn't really hit the target topic.
------------------------------
Kim Bishop
Staff Development Manager
Dayton Metro Library (OH)
kbishop@daytonmetrolibrary.org
p: 937-496-8671
------------------------------