Pride Season: Embodying inclusivity at the Library

While Pride season is highlighted during the summer months, activities that foster inclusion and equality have their place at any time of the year. At our Public Library, one particular activity was hosted for the first time in Westmount this past March. Drag Storytime welcomed children and their families for an animated reading of stories from the Library’s picture book collection, hosted by esteemed local celebrity and drag queen, Barbada De Barbades.

Storytime has long been a staple activity on the Library’s calendar of events and, likewise, Drag Storytime is nothing new. Taking off in the United States over a decade ago, this type of dressed up story hour has only grown in popularity. While the basics of storytime are maintained — an adult reads to children in an effort to promote literacy and a love of books — the main difference here is the choice of narrator. Wendy Wayling, Children’s Librarian, explains, “What we love about Barbada is that she is the embodiment of kindness, openness and acceptance, and those are great themes for story hour.” Barbada De Barbades, when out of costume, is Sebastien Potvin, an elementary school music teacher with a degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal. This expertise, along with her flair for entertainment, make her a captivating ambassador who is appreciated by children and adults alike.

“People praised us before, during and after the event. Many asked when we were going to do it again. We definitely received more positive feedback than negative.”
– Daniel Miguez, Librarian

Wendy received a lot of feedback on this event and relates, “All the parents and children at our Drag Storytime had extremely positive reactions.” Colleague and Adult Programming Librarian Daniel Miguez continues, “People praised us before, during and after the event. Many asked when we were going to do it again. We definitely received more positive feedback than negative.” In fact, a handful of protesters as well as some negative emails were traced almost exclusively to outside the Westmount community. One Westmounter’s message to the Library reflects the sentiment behind the majority of comments from residents. Jennifer wrote, “Thank you for hosting Drag Queen Story Hour! As the parent of three ‘rainbow’ kids, I’m proud to live in a community that supports inclusivity and diversity. Keep up the good work!”

Year round, the Westmount Public Library maintains a Pride reading list which is updated automatically as new titles are added to the Library’s database. With books for all ages, the reading list is a great resource for anyone looking to learn more about the 2SLGBTQI+ community… or simply to enjoy a great read! “What I love to recommend to parents who don’t understand what ‘trans’ is”, says Wendy, “is a chapter book for middle school kids that explains it in a very personal way.” The book is Melissa (previously published as George) by Alex Gino. Anyone can discover more about this and other titles on the Library’s website or in person – just look for the Pride book display.

A public library is a gathering place, a service centre and an activity hub in a city, and this is particularly true of the Westmount Public Library. One can get a good sense of the local community when they come here. Daniel, who is openly gay, shares, “In 10 years here I have never experienced homophobia in my workplace or in interacting with the public. There are situations like Drag Storytime that have the positive effect of opening discussions with staff and the community, and generally, I find this is a very open-minded and accepting community.” More important than discussions are actions, and Wendy adds, “We work diligently to make sure everyone who steps into the Library feels welcome and can find themselves in a story here.”

Photo 1: Members of the Library team with Barbara De Barbades during Drag Storytime on March 25, 2023. From left to right, Dawna Hobbs, Wendy Wayling, Barbara De Barbades, Daniel Miguez and Faith Holness.
Photo 2: Wendy Wayling and the Pride book display in the children’s section of the Westmount Public Library.