Helpful Resources for Supporting Your LGBTQ Community

| By Gale Staff | This is only a selection of resources that might be helpful when looking at ways to support the LGBTQ community. ONLINE AND ELECTRONIC RESOURCES Archives of Sexuality and Gender Offers the largest collection of materials available to support the study of gender and sexuality, providing library patrons with unparalleled access … Read more

Promote Your Resources

Developing a strong LGBTQ collection is only the beginning. The library must seek out its audience and actively promote available resources, from print and digital resources to programming, education, and events. Bringing resources to those who need them is at the core of every library’s mission, but it is especially challenging with LGBTQ patrons, many … Read more

Have Your LGBTQ Materials Been Challenged?

Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. Library Bill of Rights, Article I Libraries continue to face challenges from members of … Read more

Pride Month Resources for High School Students

| By Traci Cothran | Last Sunday marked the very first Pride Parade in my small town here in Michigan—it’s a lovely place but one whose history is characterized more by exclusivity than acceptance. It’s wonderful to witness the changes that have occurred, and I was delighted to spy several local school teachers marching alongside … Read more

7 Primary Sources to Celebrate Harvey Milk Day

On May 22nd, we celebrate Harvey Milk Day in honor of Harvey Milk – the visionary civil and human rights leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States. In 1977, Milk won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk is most known for his authenticity … Read more

Archives of Sexuality & Gender and Pride Month

Posted June 10, 2016

By: Reggie Brown and Tara Blair

LGBTQ Pride Month is underway. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community and supporters have celebrated the month of June as “Pride Month” to honor the 1969 stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month, was once “Gay Pride Day” the last Sunday in June, but has since grown to the current month long celebration.

In New Your City, just after 3 a.m., police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club. The streets turned violent as patrons and sympathizers in the area began to riot against the police. While police were justified legally to raid due to the club serving liquor without a license, the gay community at that time had grown increasingly agitated with the police department targeting of clubs for the gay community. The riot was followed by several days of demonstrations and considered a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.

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Leach, Dawn. “Evenings Out.” Gay People’s Chronicle 13 Sept. 1996. Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity. Web. 10 June 2016

 

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Bring All the Colors of the Rainbow to Your Collection

Posted  on June 7, 2016

By Liz Mason, Vice President, Product, Gale

Searching for an “unparalleled assemblage of newsletters, newspapers, and periodicals by, for, and about gays and lesbians?” Archives of Human Sexuality and Identity, Part 1: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940 brings together approximately 1.5 million pages of primary sources on social, political, health, and legal issues impacting LGBTQ communities around the world. Rare and unique content from microfilm, newsletters, organizational papers, government documents, manuscripts, pamphlets, and other types of primary sources sheds light on the gay rights movement, activism, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and more.

LGBTQ issues were at the forefront of the news in 2015. A major U.S. Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, high-profile transgender celebrity appearances, and many related stories dominated social news. Many media have declared the Rainbow Revolution in full effect. And while LGBTQ resources have been published for many years (the USC library began their collection in 1952), access to materials has been limited and not broadly publicized. In fact, libraries with significant LGBTQ collections remain small in number.

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