The chief international bibliography organization and operator of the library classification system WorldCat has quietly branded books by gender ideology critical authors like Abigail Shrier with derogatory “transphobia” and “transphobic works” labels.
Several Canadian libraries, including the Vancouver Public Library and the Greater Victoria Public Library, have followed suit and applied the “transphobia” categorization following the Online Computer Library Center’s direction.
The OCLC is the organization that heads the world’s largest online public access catalogue, collecting hundreds of millions of dollars per year from thousands of member libraries to access its classification systems and in particular the WorldCat catalogue.
True North discovered that two books in particular, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier and Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness by Dr. Miriam Grossman were branded with the “transphobia” category.
Both books critique aspects of contemporary gender ideology and the dangers that hormone therapy, surgical sex change interventions and transitioning pose for children.
Shrier’s work particularly drew international attention for exposing rapid-onset gender dysphoria in adolescent girls. Additionally, Dr. Grossman is a registered child psychiatrist who has had extensive experience working with trans-identified youth.
Grossman’s book also had a foreword by renowned psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson.
Correspondence obtained via a Freedom of Information request and reviewed by True North reveals internal GVPL emails discussing the decision to label Shrier’s and Grossman’s books with the “transphobia” label.
Emails dated April 24, 2024, reveal that a library member contacted the GVPL to flag Grossman’s book for removal because they were alerted of its existence in the library’s catalogue by a “trans friend.”
“A trans friend of mine alerted me to this book ‘lost in trans nation’ which is on order,” said the sender. “Can you give me some insight as to why we are purchasing this book?”
The individual’s name was redacted from the freedom of information files released by the library and GVPL would not confirm whether the individual was a library employee.
An email dated April 25 sent at 9:13 AM shows a draft response by GVPL stating, among other things: “We will be adding the subject heading ‘transphobia’ to the record for Lost in Trans Nation, as we have recently for Irreversible Damage.”
In response, the complainant called the labelling a “small victory.”
“It is at least a small ‘victory’ to add the transphobia tag to the material in our collection as it indicates the libraries’ acknowledgement of the content,” wrote the sender.
Questions about the library’s rationale and adherence to objective classification policies went unanswered but a GVPL spokesperson told True North that the decision to brand the works under the “transphobia” category was in accordance with OCLC classification.
“OCLC supports libraries worldwide by providing shared technology services, conducting original research, and offering community programs. For libraries across North America, it has a critical function as the main source for catalogue records. At the local level, GVPL updated our catalogue record to match the OCLC catalogue record,” GVPL’s marketing and development official told True North in an emailed statement.
Shrier’s Irreversible Damage has been at the centre of broader debates over censoring views that oppose the dominant pharmaceutical-driven orthodoxy on child gender transitions, with attempts in both Canada and the United States to remove the book from library shelves following its release in 2021.
OCLC spokesperson Bob Murphy responded to True North’s request for comment stating that the organization “does not assign or require specific subject heading” to books.
“OCLC is a technology organization that makes it possible for libraries to share bibliographic records and resources through WorldCat, an online catalog of library collections worldwide,” said Murphy.
“Member libraries can contribute and copy these records. Libraries can edit these records to meet their unique needs and specifications. As noted earlier, OCLC does not assign or require specific subject headings to books in libraries.”
