Daring To Find Our Names, Vol. 5
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Gives the heretofore neglected history of lesbigay librarians, founders of the oldest professionally endorsed task force in the world. Library Journal The public library often plays the unacknowledged role of first sanctuary for many a young gay and lesbian person as they struggle to define themselves. So perhaps it is not surprising that the library also becomes an employment opportunity of choice for those same persons later on in life. The strong connection between libraries and sexual minorities forms the crux of this latest collection of essays, edited by an associate professor of library studies at the University of North Carolina. Libraries, however, are not always the bastion of free and independent thought. Local prejudices, as well as the less than tolerant climate of society in general, often color the employment picture for gay and lesbian librarians. Broader in scope than the groundbreaking Liberating Minds (Professional Media, LJ 6/1/97), this volume nevertheless relies on the anecdotal to illustrate the sometimes life-threatening difficulties gay and lesbian library personnel must face. Essays include methodological problems when researching issues of interest to gays and lesbians, a wonderfully intimate and loving story by a University of Alabama professor on her work editing the letters of Southern writer Lillian Smith, as well as an account by famed lesbian activist Barbara Gittings on the founding of the Gay and Lesbian Task Force of the American Library Association in 1970. This collection may open some eyes, if not minds, and should be included on any professional shelf. Heavily annotated, it will prove an invaluable resource for future research on the subject as well.--Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., OR
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Makeover Without a Mirror - A Face for Lesbigay Library History11Methodological Issues in Research with Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals272A Lesbigay Gender Perplex: Sexual Stereotyping and Professional Ambiguity in Librarianship373Biographical Research on Lesbigay Subjects: Editing the Letters of Lillian Smith474A Closet Curtained by Circumspection: Doing Research on the McCarthy Era Purge of Gays from the Library of Congress555Queer Histories/Queer Librarians: The Historical Development of a Gay Monograph656Gays in Library Land: The Gay and Lesbian Task Force of the American Library Association: The First Sixteen Years817A Personal Task Force Scrapbook: "Incunabula," 1971-1972 and After958Reclaiming a Founding1079Librarians as Cultural Enforcers11310The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Task Force of the American Library Association: A Chronology of Activities, 1970-199512111Archivists, Activists, and Scholars: Creating a Queer History13512Building "A Home of Our Own": The Construction of the Lesbian Herstory Archives15313An Accidental Institution: How and Why a Gay and Lesbian Archives?17514Safe Harbour: The Origin and Growth of the Lesbian and Gay Archives of New Zealand18315Destination Library20516Social Responsibility and Acceptable Prejudice21317Out Publicly: The Professional and Personal of Gay Public Librarianship217Index233About the Editor and Contributors247