Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table

American Library Association

Annual Meeting, 2009
Steering Committee II

Palmer House
Indiana Room
July 14, 2009
8:00Am – 12:00pm
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Call to Order: David Vess

Introductions: David Vess

Approval of Agenda

Reports from Coordinators, Councilors, and Liaisons

• American Assoc. of School Librarians: Frank Cervone
• ALA Councilor: John Sandstrom
• ALA Executive Board: Larry Romans
• Assn. for Library Service to Children: Kathleen T. Horning
• ASCLA Accessibility Assembly: Jerry Reynolds
• Budget and Review Council: Norman Eriksen
• COPE: Diedre Conkling, John DeSantis
• Diversity Council: Anne Moore and Barbara J. Pickell
• Education Assembly: vacant
• Freedom to Read Foundation: vacant
• Intellectual Freedom Round Table: Martin Garnar
• Legislation Assembly: Jerry Reynolds
• Literacy Assembly: William Holden
• Membership Promotion Task Force: Matthew Ciszek
• New Members Round Table: Amy Elliott
• OLOS Advisory Committee: Anne Moore
• Planning and Budget Assembly: Dale McNeill
• Public Library Association: Barbara Pickell
• Research and Statistics Assembly: vacant
• Social Responsibilities Round Table: vacant
• Young Adult Library Services Association: Franklin L. Escobedo

1. Old Business

• Continued discussion of SC I topics

2. New Business

a. Talk with Satia Orange (11:00 Am)

b. Liaisons

• Role of
• Add/Subtract any

c. Fortieth Anniversary Celebration

• Programming Ideas
• Gala Celebration

d. Goal for the Next Two Years

• Tool-kits

*Do we want to assign someone other than Co-Chairs to oversee these?
*Would this be an ad hoc committee type of job?

e. Dispensing of the Membership Meetings and holding votes on issues, revisions, etc. during the ALA election process in the Spring.

3. Adjournment: David Vess

Due to a scheduling conflict, Sidetrack (3349 North Halsted) will be hosting the GLBTRT Social from 7:00 - 9:00 PM on Saturday, July 11. THIS IS ONLY A TIME CHANGE, NOT A DATE CHANGE.

(This is different from the previously posted time of 6:00 - 7:30 PM.)

The Center on Halsted (3656 North Halsted) will still be offering tours of their facility beginning at 8:00 PM Saturday, July 11. Ask at the first floor reception desk for Todd or Rob, your tour guides.

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Round Table

American Library Association

Annual Meeting, 2009
Steering Committee I

Palmer House
Room Clark 07
July 11, 2009
8:00 – 10:00 a.m.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


1. Call to order: David Vess

2. Introductions: David Vess

3. Approval of Agenda

4. Address from RT Councilor (20 min.): John Sandstrom

5. Address from PFLAG (15 min.): Peter Ji

6. Approval of Minutes

7. Reports of Officers

• Co-Chair: David Vess
• Treasurer: Dale McNeill
• Secretary: Tracy Nectoux

8. Reports from Committee Chairs

• Book Award Committee: James Simonis
• Book Awards Celebration Committee: John Furlong
• External Relations Committee: Peter Hepburn
• Fundraising Committee: David C. McCormick
• Membership Committee: Matthew Ciszek
• Newsletter Committee: John Bradford
• Nominating Committee: Lisa Johnston
• Program Planning Committee: Barbara Pickell
• Website Committee: Kristen Dietiker

9. Unfinished Business

10. New Business

• Don Weise, Alyson Books Partnership
• Amazon Issue and Other Intellectual Freedom Issues
• Continued use of the Membership survey
• Absorbing the cost of shipping extra Rainbow Project and BAC books to conferences
• Reimbursing Matt Ciszek and Jules Tate for March ACRL Conference Social Event
• Committee Volunteer Form (see appendix)
• Current Bylaws Revisions Document (see appendix)
• Possible Bylaws Amendments:

Below are a list of possible bylaw amendments that have been discussed by one or more SC members. During the membership meeting, motions can be made to amend the current bylaws revision document (see appendix) in two ways. 1. If a motion involves text not already up for an amendment in the bylaws revision document, the vote must be a 3/4 majority. 2. If a motion does involve text already up for amendment in the bylaws revision document, then it only needs a majority vote (as it's an amendment of an amendment). The below are only ideas. A motion can be made on each of them to "refer to committee" (i.e. the bylaws committee) for review and be up for consideration next year.

A. Rainbow Project (see appendix of proposed Rainbow Project bylaws text)

• All costs to be shared equally by both GLBTRT and SRRT
• Official Name
• Method of appointing Committee Chairs
• Method of appointing Committee Members
• Celebration schedule not to conflict with Book Awards Brunch/Dinner, SC, Membership Meetings
• Adoption of final language to take to membership meeting

B. Propose a Chair and Chair-Elect model for all committees; term length; gender equity; Immediate Past Chair

C. Propose amendment to allow SC to add, combine, dissolve committees with a 2/3 vote of SC

D. Propose revised language for membership volunteering/recruitment to mention a web form. (note a version of this is already for voting.)

• Waiting lists issue - for procedures manual

E. Propose dissolution of Nominating Committee

F. Propose amendments to revised bylaws for:

• Membership/External Relations
• Membership/Nominating

G. Possible New Committees:

• Bibliographies/Literacy Committee
• Intellectual Freedom/Political/Legislative Advocacy Committee

H. Propose creating Ad Hoc Committees for

• Procedures Manual

# tasked to identify procedural items in Bylaws and propose removing them
# explicate procedures as needed
# streamline procedures as needed
# Should committees reevaluate their procedures and policies and provide them to this committee, or
# Should this committee do the reevaluation

• Rainbow Project joint evaluation
• Tool-kits (part of possible Bibliographies/Literacy Committee)

I. Propose amendments about Meetings

• Membership meeting at Midwinter - yes/no
• Fixed times for meetings (will require more fixed program times)

J. Propose amendments about dues and costs of events

• Changing dues structure

# Lower/free for students, unemployed, and limited income retirees
# Some kind of honor system sliding scale?

• Sliding scale for ticketed events

# BAC Brunch
# Fortieth Anniversary Gala
# Rainbow Project Breakfast

11. Announcements

12. Adjournment

Park, Judith. YSquarePlus. New York: Yen Press, 2007 [2008 English language edition]. paperback. 200p. $10.99. ISBN: 9780759529274.

YSquarePlus, a sequel to Judith Park's 1997 YSquare manga, continues the story of best friends Yagate, a gay student, and Yoshitaka, who is straight. Though tagged OT for "older teen," this book is not sexually explicit, and Yagate's sexuality is accepted matter-of-factly by all of the characters.

Originally published in German, the story dialogue is translated into English, but traces of German remain in the graphics, usually with explanatory notes. The story's conclusion brings to mind older, dated, gay YA fiction, in that the boy gets the girl, but the boy does
not get the boy.

YSquarePlus is recommended for public libraries with patrons interested in manga.

Reviewed by Dave Combe
EP Foster Library
Ventura, CA

The Book of Boy Trouble: Gay Boy Comics with a New Attitude. Edited by Robert Kirby & David Kelly. [San Francisco]: Green Candy Press, 2006. paperback. 132p. $15.00 ISBN: 9781931160452.

The Book of Boy Trouble. Volume 2, Born to Trouble. Edited by Robert Kirby & David Kelly. [San Francisco]: Green Candy Press, 2008. paperback. 100p. $15.00 ISBN: 9781931160650.

Robert Kirby started Boy Trouble: Gay Boy Comics with a New Attitude in 1994 as a thirty-page photocopied alternative zine, showcasing work from mostly twenty-something gay male comic artists. In 1995, David Kelley joined Kirby to put out issues in 1995, 1997, and 2000. They released the fifth issue, an eighty-page trade paperback, at the tenth anniversary in 2004 – and the positive gay and alternative press this generated convinced the editors to publish a volume of Boy Trouble's greatest hits.

The Book of Boy Trouble presented the best work previously published in the zine, and it gathered in new comics by both established and new contributors – as the editors put it, "taking a long sideways glance into the past as we continue into the future." Mostly illustrated in black and white, there are 24 pages of color comics.

Punk rock, bad dates, porn arcades, chance meetings, coming out, staying in – all are fair game to the seventeen artists included. These stories are all personal, provocative, and powerful - I can only pick out the best of the best. I was immediately hooked by the first story, "Instruction," by D. Travers Scott and Robert Kirby, of a twenty-year-old on his first visit to one of Chicago's porn arcades. David Kelley does a touching "Queer Tribute to Kurt [Cobain]" and enthusiastically illustrates a Spoilsport song, "Boys on the Beach." Michael Fahy made me laugh out loud at "Self Portrait."

The Book of Boy Trouble. Volume 2, Born to Trouble, expands color comics to the entire book. Artists from the 1970's and 1980's – Howard Cruse, Jenifer Camper, Robert Triptow – join the 1990's boys and their successors. Sexual preference and gender lines are broken, reflecting changes in the artists who contributed to later zine issues.

Again, the best of the best: Anonymous Boy's "Wayne Gets Groped" is a great tale of a closeted punk rock fan at a concert. Ed Luce's "Wuvable Oaf in 'Chat Attack'" takes a humorous look at on-line hookups (with the assistance of Wuvable Oaf's adorable cats). "Evil Bear Man" by Justin Hall details an episode in the life of a fetish escort. And Tim Fish's "The Voodoo That You Do So Well" is a sweet story of how a voodoo doll pulls two lonely men together.

Both books are recommended for public and academic libraries with comics/graphic novel collections. Be aware, though, that nudity is used to tell some stories in both volumes.

Reviewed by Louis Lang
Leather Archives & Museum

Ewert, Marcus, and Rex Ray. 10,000 Dresses. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2008. hardcover. 32p. $14.95. ISBN: 9781583228500.

Every night young Bailey dreams about dresses, one on each step of an endless staircase, each dress more beautiful than the last. But when she tells her mother, father, and brother about the dresses, and asks for help in making them, they scold her, saying, "Dresses aren't for boys." Bailey explains that she doesn't feel like a boy, but they each respond that she is and "that's that!" Finally, Bailey finds a friend who is also fascinated with dresses and they begin to create some together.

10,000 Dresses is the first book for children depicting the experience of a child who is transgendered, or at least gender-variant. Bailey's experiences, and the initial reactions of family members, are accurate and realistic, as is the importance of finding an understanding friend. The illustrations are child-friendly and colorful. The story is simple and appropriate for children as young as three or four, and invites discussion between parent and child. Such books are sorely needed, and this one is a real success.

Recommended for all libraries serving youth.

Reviewed by Nancy Silverrod
San Francisco Public Library

Burd, Nick. The Vast Fields of Ordinary. New York: Dial Books, 2009. hardcover. 320 p. $16.99. ISBN: 9780803733404.

Opening on a truly horrendous prom night for our narrator Dade, Nick Burd's first novel, The Vast Fields of Ordinary, never quite lives up to the promise of its vivid first scene: Dade is in the bathroom, hiding from the fact that Pablo, the boy he loves, is currently out on the dance floor with his girlfriend, unwilling to acknowledge their relationship.

Burd's novel takes place over the summer before Dade leaves for college, as he tries to figure out what he wants out of life and a relationship. Most of the narrative deals with Dade's burgeoning relationship with Alex Kincaid, an older boy who is a part-time drug dealer. Pablo, however, becomes angry and aggressive in the face of Dade moving on.

The way Burd depicts Pablo is the true problem here: Pablo becomes a caricature of the tortured closet case. This portrayal is even more uncomfortable when paired alongside Dade and Alex's quite romantic and more healthy relationship. Worse still is Pablo's ultimate fate, which is not only grisly and more likely to be found in a much older and less enlightened book, but used by Dade as a fairly narcissist way to reflect on his life. The real shame is that Burd's writing is superb and artful, he does a great job capturing the feeling of the last summer before college. The rest of the story and characterization, however, just don't work.

Recommended only as a supplemental purchase for libraries with large collections.

Reviewed by Angie Manfredi
Head of Youth Services
Los Alamos County Library System

Egloff, Z. Verge. Ann Arbor: Bywater Books, 2009. paperback. 280p. $14.95. ISBN: 9781932859683.

Claire McMinn is a young aspiring filmmaker struggling to find direction, stability, and identity while in recovery. In some subtle and not-so-subtle ways, we journey with Claire soon after she's become sober, and begins coming to terms with mistakes made before her recovery, with the limitations of the people in her life, and with her own identity.

We begin with Claire being fired from her teaching assistant position by her film professor, who has just learned of Claire's affair with his wife. Claire then arrives home to find that her best friend, Shelley, has been abused again by her husband, and needs to go to a safe house. These two events bring Claire to Sister Hillary, who runs a community center in town, and who loans her the camera she needs to complete her course work. What Claire does not count on is her attraction to Sister Hillary.

Verge is Egloff's first published novel. Despite some of the prose and dialogue sounding forced, Egloff manages to weave several complex and realistic characters together. Claire is a likeable protagonist because of her flaws, and her new, almost clumsy attempts at self-examination. Claire's dealings with friends and an alcoholic family who aren't always able to take care of themselves, present us with a character that doesn't always say or do the "right" thing, which is refreshing. The language can be cumbersome at times, especially in the beginning, but the story is compelling.

Recommended for those looking for a quick and entertaining read.

Reviewed by Jesse Nachem
Lucasfilm Archives

Baumbach, Laura, Angela Fiddler, and Jet Mykles. Blood Claim. Albion, NY: MLR Press, LLC, 2008. softcover. 213p. $14.99. ISBN:9781934531167.

Vampires are hot. Vampires with souls; vampires that sparkle; or just the regular kind with the long, mean teeth: people just can't seem to get enough, and it is on this premise that these three erotic tales are based.

In Laura Baumbach's first story, "Winner Takes All," ancient vampire Malcolm Crane seeks out the son of the man he desired but never had, in hopes that perhaps the next generation will be able to satisfy his physical and emotional needs. The second story, Jet Mykles' "Wolfe's Recluse," tells of techno-geek Matt's loss of his boyfriend, and the new life he finds in the arms of the vampire who stole him away. "The Gift of the Raven," by Angela Fiddler, details a three-vamp battle to claim the love of a boy named Corbin.

As a whole, the collection is entirely, blandly adequate. The stories are competently told, the sex hot enough to serve its purpose,
which in this case seems to be gay titillation made by, and for, straight women, as it lacks the more primal urgency men create for themselves (though the BDSM element in Fiddler's story comes closer). Nonetheless, the title offers nothing truly original, nor anything that can't be found for free on a thousand slash blogs. Libraries should save their money for the next vampire collection, whose publication is as inevitable as sunrise.

Reviewed by Amanda Clay
Librarian, Lakeview Elementary School,
Oklahoma

Barrack, Jeanne. Bend in the Road. Albion, NY: MLR Press LLC, 2009. softcover. 261p. $14.99. ISBN: 9781608200023.

Bend in the Road consists of two gay Jewish romances centered around an 1880's Eastern European Yiddish traveling group. The first part focuses on how Aryeh and Dani fall in love during rehearsals for a production for Purim, the holiday which celebrates the saving of the Jews of Shushm by Queen Esther. The second part, the love story of Yuval and Tsvi (also called Dovid), is set during rehearsals for a wedding performance. Characters appear in both sections of the novel, but the sections are independent in terms of plot. Thematically, both stories are similar in that they are structured around celebrations of Jewish culture and a sense of family within the traveling group.

Romance is about wish-fulfillment, and Barrack offers a more sophisticated wish-fulfillment than one might expect. Erotically explicit in parts, the author creates a space where being part of Jewish tradition, gay, in love, and part of a family are all acceptable, and indeed, necessary. The two couples
hunger for romantic and sexual love, but also for a sense of family and a desire to feel connected to God. Although not a deep examination of these issues, Barrack offers two readable fantasies in which homophobia, anti-Semitism, and spiritual alienation are overcome.

Recommended for public libraries with an audience interested in gay male romance. Not recommended for libraries with limited budgets seeking to expand their GLBTQ holdings, as there are better resources available that examine these issues.

Reviewed by Travis Alan Ferrell, MLIS

Banis, Victor J. Deadly Nightshade. Albion, NY: MLR Press LLC, 2009. paperback. 217p. $14.99. ISBN: 9781934531747.

Although closely following a traditional mystery formula, Victor Banis' Deadly Nightshade is pure erotic fantasy. In the real world, openly gay men and lesbians have served in the San Francisco Police Department for decades. In the world of Stanley Korski, however, being a gay member of the SFPD makes him so exceptional that after a single week on the force he's brought in to investigate a homicide when eyewitnesses report that the shooter was a drag queen. Stanley's arch patter and campy ways terrify his police detective partner, the manly and hirsute Tom Danzel. (Tom's so manly he has to ask what a Neanderthal is.) Of course the two officers complement each other beautifully as they pursue the perp, and of course Stanley falls hard for the unattainable-or-is-he? Tom.

Stereotypes abound, but originality is hardly the point, and if Deadly Nightshade is not quite as witty as it tries to be, by the end I was intrigued enough to wonder what could possibly happen next. Fortunately, this is the first of a series, to be followed by Deadly Wrong and Deadly Dreams.

Victor Banis has written more than 150 books, including the 2008 memoir Spine Intact, Some Creases.

Recommended for large, gay-themed collections.

Reviewed by Joyce Meggett
Division Chief for Humanities
Chicago Public Library

McMickle, Marvin A. A Time to Speak: How Black Pastors Can Respond to the HIV/AIDS Pandemic. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2008. paperback. 144p. $20.00. ISBN: 9780829818031.

The pastor of Cleveland's Antioch Baptist Church exhorts his colleagues to recognize how AIDS is affecting the African-American community. AIDS is now the leading cause of death among black women aged 25 - 34, and black teenagers are disproportionately represented among new AIDS cases.

Black churches are not generally allies on GLBT causes, and McMickle acknowledges that the early association of AIDS with gay sex still influences black congregations' response to the pandemic. He recognizes further that statistics simply do not motivate the black church community the way a Biblical mandate does. His observations may help GLBT persons outside the black community understand how the moral authority of the Bible—with its promise that God's justice will eventually prevail—was a profound source of strength during the civil rights movement, and is equally important to black churches today. AIDS ministries will only be supported by black congregations if they are shown to be compatible with Biblical teachings.

In making his case, McMickle focuses on Jesus responding with touch and healing to a man with leprosy, another highly contagious disease that made its sufferers into social outcasts. He also speaks candidly about the skepticism his own church faced while developing AIDS ministries. Their perseverance, he concludes, was made possible by "a direct appeal to the authority of scripture as a source of compassion and not condemnation."

A Time to Speak is recommended, with the caveat that many gay readers will probably not be drawn to it, as they'll be able to tell from the title that it is addressing a specific audience.

Reviewed by Ruth Ann Jones
Special Collections Cataloger
Michigan State University Libraries

Gammel, Irene. Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L.M. Montgomery and Her Literary Classic. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008. hardcover. 320p. $27.95. ISBN: 0312382375.

In Looking for Anne of Green Gables, Irene Gammel focuses on the writing of L.M. Montgomery's most famous book. She uncovers sources, traces parallels between Maud and Anne, and considers the ways in which Anne served as an alter-ego who was universally loved (unlike Maud), and was able to be freer than Maud ever could be. She also discusses Montgomery's personal life: her unsatisfactory family relations, her passions for other girls and then women, her desire to make a home with another woman, the men in her life, and her anxiety about male-female relationships and sexuality. Montgomery probably falls into that category of emotionally lesbian women, who probably never acted on their feelings.

Looking for Anne of Green Gables ends with the publication of Anne of Green Gables and its sequels, trouble that Montgomery had with her publisher, her marriage (and disappointments in it), and her two sons. It then skips to her death many years later, which hinders it from serving as a complete biography. Still, Gammel's book is a fascinating portrait of a troubled woman who gifted young readers with a story that is still treasured today.

Recommended.

Reviewed by Nancy Silverrod
San Francisco Public Library

Tin, Louis-Georges, ed. English Language Edition. Trans: Marek Redburn. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2008. hardcover. $44.95. ISBN: 9781551522296.

In 2003, Presses universitaires de France published the groundbreaking Dictionnaire de l'homophobie. But though the text was highly acclaimed and "unanimously well-received," its editor, Louis-Georges Tin, found himself a victim of his dictionary's topic. Upon Dictionnaire de l'homophobie's publication, Tin learned that "doors that had previously been open were now closed" to him, and his contract at the University of Paris was terminated. Thus, while literary society lauded Tin's achievement, homophobia among Tin's colleagues dictated his fate, and simultaneously provided ironic proof of the profound need for Tin's book.

This 2008 translation - the first English translation - updates rights gained and abuses committed since the 2003 edition. It is comprehensive, well-documented, and often reads like a conversation - an intelligent, informed, necessary conversation. Standard dictionary format is used; however, the articles can be divided into five categories: (1) Theories used to justify homophobia; (2) Historical agents and victims of homophobia; (3) Homophobia in regards to geographical and historical places and settings; (4) Homophobia in environments and institutions (i.e., schools, homes, workplace); and (5) Homophobic rhetoric.

The Dictionary of Homophobia contains 160+ enlightening essays, written by over 70 people from over fifteen countries. And though (as the subtitle states) its focus is homophobia, Tin includes informative, thorough entries on biphobia and transphobia as well.
Strongly recommended for all libraries.

Reviewed by Tracy Marie Nectoux
Cataloger, Illinois Newspaper Project
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Clinton, Kate. I Told You So. Boston: Beacon Press, 2009. hardcover. 189p. $22.00. ISBN: 9780807044421.

If you've never had the opportunity to enjoy Kate Clinton's brand of smart, in-your-face lesbian feminist humor this book provides a taste of what you've been missing. Over 80 short chapters (from collected columns and routines) are arranged chronologically by topics (i.e., Bawdy Politics, Faith-Based Comedy).

Kate examines the topics of our lives, usually political, always hilarious, often bittersweet. Until Rachel Maddow hit the scene, Kate was about the smartest lesbian comic out there; only now does she have some competition.

This is a volume that is best enjoyed being read aloud to friends and lovers (or, lover, if you're that way).

So have you heard the one that goes: "Praying should be like doing your Kegel exercises: no one needs to know you are doing it and you achieve lovely results." Put this in your collection, and thank you Kate, for helping to get us through the dark times with humor and heart.

Reviewed by Morgan Gwenwald
SUNY New Paltz

Baim, Tracy, ed. Chicago: Agate Publishing, 2008. hardcover. 224p. $30.00. ISBN: 9781572841000.

Tracy Baim's Out and Proud in Chicago is the companion book to the local PBS documentary of the same name and the accompanying web site. This resource is comprised of historical photographs and short articles written by 35 different authors about Chicago‘s GLBT community from the 1800s to the present.

The articles, drawn from the city's many archives and publications (and supplemented by interviews conducted by the editor), provide an overview of the people, places, organizations, and events that are or have been important to the GLBT community in Chicago. Six time periods, each with an associated theme (e.g. 1950s – 1960s: The Seeds of Change; 1980s: Silence = Death), are used as a way to structure the flow of material. Additionally, all of the visual materials in the book carry descriptive captions, thus integrating the visuals into the text as historically important artifacts.

Baim includes a bibliography of many of the resources consulted. The book lacks an index, however, which would have been helpful for readers interested in searching for information on specific individuals, events, or locations.

Out and Proud in Chicago is recommended for both local and statewide institutions that have LGBT collections, but also for any institutions that contain regionally-focused LGBT collections and materials.

Reviewed by TJ Lusher
Northern Illinois University

Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
The Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame is both a historic event and an exhibit. Through the Hall of Fame, residents of Chicago and the world are made aware of the contributions of Chicago's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities and the communities' efforts to eradicate homophobic bias and discrimination.
http://www.glhalloffame.org/

Chicago Gay History Project
An overview of people, events, and organizations that helped the Windy City become a beacon of gay progress. This Web site was conceived by Tracy Baim and is a companion to the book Out and Proud in Chicago (2008).
http://www.chicagogayhistory.org/

Chicago's GLBT History Resources
This bibliography is a great starting point for research on Chicago’s GLBT history.
http://www.chicagogayhistory.org/resources.html

Gay Press Archives
Both full text archives and PDF files of Chicago’s GLBT newspapers, current and past, are maintained here. With a little effort, you can track down John D’Emilio’s articles on Chicago GLBT history.
http://www.chicagogayhistory.org/archives.html

CWLU Herstory Project
The online archive of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union, a group of Windy City women determined to challenge male supremacy through many organizing projects from 1969-1977.
http://cwluherstory.org/

Blazing Star
Among the CWLU projects was a movement for lesbian liberation, often known as Blazing Star, after the title of its newsletter.
http://www.cwluherstory.org/blazing-star.html

Gerber/Hart Library
As a library, Gerber/Hart Library is committed to acquiring, preserving, and disseminating materials that embody the culture and history of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. As archives, Gerber/Hart Library is the repository for the records, papers, and other realia of GLBT life, focusing primarily in the Chicago metropolitan area and the Midwest.
http://www.gerberhart.org

Leather Archives & Museum
The Leather Archives & Museum is a library, museum and archives pertaining to Leather, fetishism, sadomasochism, and alternative sexual practices - and includes all sexual orientations and genders. While the geographic collection scope is worldwide, significant Chicago resources are held.
http://www.leatherarchives.org

Kris Studios of Chicago
Kris Studios, founded in 1950, was a Chicago physique pictorial photography business. Studio founder Chuck Renslow successfully defended himself against a pornography charge brought by the Postal Service, making it easier for GLBT magazines, newspapers, photosets, and films to be sent through the mail.
http://www.leatherarchives.org/kris/krisindex.htm

Online Video and Film
Films from Kris Studios and videos of Chicago leather events make up about a third of the clips available.
http://www.leatherarchives.org/collections/video-fi.htm

Queer Bronzeville : The History of African American Gays and Lesbians on Chicago’s South Side
Learn about the development (1885-1985) of queer communities in Bronzeville, an African-American neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. This exhibit was created by 2008 OutHistory.org Fellowship winner Tristan Cabello.
http://outhistory.org/wiki/Queer_Bronzeville_:_An_Overview

If you are in town for ALA on Thursday, July 9, you can catch Max Smith discussing his forthcoming book African America's Third Rail: SGL (Same Gender Loving) . He'll be speaking at 7 pm at the Gerber-Hart Library, 1127 West Granville, just west of the Granville stop on the Red Line.

John Bradford