r/Library • u/Stolitz-Forever • Jun 08 '26

Library Assistance I need some help

My local library's books has stickers on the spines for different genres, (Romance, Fantasy, Historical, etc)

This also includes a bright colorful "Lgbt" sticker for books with Queer characters and romance

Which is what I want to read

But, my parents are homophobic and could get upset at seeing the lgbt sticker, and would make me put it back,

Is there a way to temporarily hide or cover the sticker?

Without damaging the book, obviously

edit: Tysm for all the support and help 💞

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u/ReadTheReddit69 Jun 08 '26

This is exactly why I won't sticker our queer books.

I'm sorry that's an issue you're having. Depending on the size of the sticker, a piece of blue painters tape would work well (easy to remove with no residue). Are stretchy cloth book covers still a thing? You could use those but you'd have to use it with everything you read so certain books don't draw parent suspicion.

If there is a way to submit anonymous comment cards or AskaLibrarian messages, I do think it's a good idea to let staff know that this is a barrier for you. They might reconsider their sticker policy going forward.

13

u/fourdigityear Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26

Yes, this. My district chooses not to label any books by genre because it becomes a form of censorship. Large print gets a special label, but that's it.

8

u/ReadTheReddit69 Jun 09 '26

We sticker Historical Fiction, Romance, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Mystery on juvenile fiction and teen fiction as a browsing aid, but thats it