Marking International Transgender Visibility Day on March 31st, Cork County Council’s Library and Arts Services will be running a dedicated phone line from Library HQ to facilitate people with or awaiting a Gender Recognition Certificate in registering or changing their details to their preferred name and gender for their library account.
Council Library staff are facilitating a change of name for transgender people following awareness training by Gay Project and Gender Rebels Cork, who highlighted some of the difficulties faced by many transgender and gender diverse people on their journey, such as the costly and time consuming process of legally changing ones name and gender information.
Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Gillian Coughlan said, “libraries can be one of the most important public spaces for people looking to learn, to connect with their community and to unwind. This latest move from Cork County Library and Arts Services will go a way towards ensuring that trans and gender diverse people can feel validated in their identity as they partake in the amazing benefits of library membership. This can include joining the LGTBQIA+ Virtual Bookclub or accessing the ever-expanding collection of LGBTQIA+ materials on offer throughout Cork County Libraries.”
Cork County Librarian Emer O’Brien said, “inclusivity is at the heart of the Cork County Council Library & Arts Service ethos. As part of this ethos, we are delighted to play our part in recognising International Transgender Visibility Day on the 31st of March and supporting the transgender and gender diverse community of Cork County.”
Library staff will be on hand to take calls throughout the day on March 31st at the dedicated phoneline 021-4285645.
Source: Cork County Council
