The one question in Victoria’s rainbow libraries toolkit now being asked that has infuriated parents and experts

Librarians in one Australian state have been encouraged to ask children as young as five about their gender pronouns, sparking outrage from parents and experts.

The Victorian Government on Friday unveiled a ‘rainbow libraries toolkit’ which has since been issued to more than 290 public libraries across the state.

Launched by the Jacinta Allan’s government, the toolkit comes with a new set of guidelines that aim to help libraries become more inclusive spaces to LGBTQIA+ communities and families.

Some of the advice for inclusivity provided in the toolkit includes adding books on gender diversity to library collections, promote drag queen story-time and avoid using ‘gendered language’, Sky News reported.

A section titled ‘Non-Gendered Interactions’ urges librarians to not assume primary school children’s pronouns.

‘It is also important to recognise that, especially for young people, gender identity and sexuality can shift or evolve over time,’ the toolkit states.

‘Children in particular may want to experiment with different gender expressions through dressing up, and we can support them by avoiding mapping our expectations of gender onto them.’

The toolkit also urges library staff that even if they know a child who visits their library, it’s best to ‘leave room for them to express a change in their identity’.

This includes finding out if the child still continues to use the same pronouns they did in the past.   

‘Checking in casually about their pronouns (‘Do you still prefer he/him pronouns?’; ‘Do you still go by Sam, or is there something else you’d like me to use?’) can let a young person in particular know that you are safe, accepting and flexible and that, by extension, so is the library,’ the toolkit suggests.

‘(This) can let a young person in particular know that you are safe, accepting and flexible and that, by extension, so is the library.’  

Local government minister Melissa Horne said the library toolkit will make sure ‘all Victorians’ would belong in libraries ‘regardless of identity’.

The ‘rainbow libraries toolkit’ was launched on Friday in Victoria with the aim of making libraries more inclusive (pictured the Victorian State Library in Melbourne)

Equality minister Harriet Shing said the toolkit was evidence the government would always support the LGBTQIA+ communities, and they were trying to make the state a place where people can live ‘wholly and freely’.

The development of the toolkit was based on the feedback of 156 surveyed LGBTQIA+ families in addition to 80 library staff, sparking outrage from critics

Conservative education experts are among those who have slammed the state government initiative.

Australian Catholic University senior fellow Dr Kevin Donnelly described the toolkit and its guidelines as a ‘dangerous’ example of allowing activists to take the place of parents and said it can ‘destroy the innocence of childhood’.  

Director of the Foundations of Western Civilisation Program at the Institute of Public Affairs Dr Bella d’Abrera told Daily Mail Australia that parents should also be ‘very concerned’.

LGBTQIA+ families and library staff, were surveyed (pictured a couple with the LGBTQIA+ rainbow flag)

‘The government both supports and funds the indoctrination of children with fringe theories about sex and gender, years before it is appropriate,’ Ms d’Abrera said.

‘There is no single circumstance in which it is appropriate for a librarian to be having discussions about gender and sexuality with other people’s children.

‘It is incredible that families can no longer even visit a public library without staff members attempting to recruit children into the radical gender cult. 

‘Children should be left alone to be children.’ 

Daily Mail Australia contacted Dr Harriet Shing for comment.