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LGBT Studies: Home

Books for LGBTQ+ Pride 2023

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LGBT Religious Archives Network - The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Religious Archives Network (LGBT-RAN) coordinates and supports the identification, collection and preservation of personal papers and organizational records from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender religious movements. To encourage scholarly research and historical study of these important movements for social change, LGBT-RAN disseminates information about these records and provides and facilitates access to them, using digital technology when possible.

Illinois LGBT Resources

Equality Illinois- Founded in 1992 to address the civil rights isssues facing the LGBT citizens of Illinois, this statewide activist group focuses its efforts on working for the passage of civil rights laws ( including civil unions and same-sex marriage ) , challenging employment discrimination and  violence, and promoting awareness of transgender issues.

Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Chicago) - Founded in 1981, this collection's primary focus is on the collection and preservation of the Midwest's homosexual and bisexual history.

 Leather Archives and Museum - A unique institution based in Chicago covering the history of the leather/levi community, with substantial holdings about gay men and lesbians.

General Web Resources

  • glbtq: gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer culture-An online encyclopedia covering LGBT culture - very good for more popular subjects.
  • Gender and Sexuality Resource Center( Northern Illinois University )
  • LGBTData- Based at the Drexel University School for Public Health, this site offers an open- access gathering of datasets and measures relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • Out of the Past: 400 years of Lesbian and Gay History in America - This Public Broadcasting System Web site is an outgrowth of the hour-long film of the same title, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 1998; it won the audience award for best documentary and was later aired on the network. It centers around the personal growth of a young woman who attempted to start a gay-straight alliance group at her high school and interweaves contemporary issues with her gradually expanded awareness of a gay and lesbian historical heritage. Out of the Past is composed of six pull-down menus examining evidence for same-sex history (chiefly in North America) between 1600 and the present. Each poses a question for reader feedback on subjects ranging from religion and sexuality, first romance, local community history, folklore and oral traditions, and conditions for gay and lesbian youth. The bibliography, although well chosen, contains only 35 books and articles. Eight Internet sites illustrate the possibilities of electronic access for monitoring current historical events in lesbigay history (with the glaring lack of links to any of the major gay and lesbian archives), while five organizations selected from the many in various fields of gay civil rights activism are briefly profiled, with the absence of the oldest of all, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
  • Outfest - A leading showcase for diverse, international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film and video. Outfest produces the oldest and largest continuous film festival in Los Angeles, the only LGBT weekly screening series in the country as well as the only LGBT people of color film festival. Since 1982, Outfest has presented more than 4,000 film and video titles for audiences of well over half a million people.”
  • People with a History: An Online Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans* History - This site presents the history of gay men, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered persons in all historical periods and regions of the world through hundreds of original texts and discussions. Cross-references to a detailed onsite bibliography make this site a valuable teaching tool.
  • Pink News- Europe's major LGBT news service.
  • Queering the Library: Including LGBTQ Information

Newspapers and Periodicals

  • Bay Windows - New England's gay and lesbian newspaper.
  • Dallas Voice - The Voice's website descibes it as " the premier media source for LGBT Texas ."
  • Frontiers- Based in Los Angeles, this magazine has provided coverage of emerging political and cultural life, both within California and on the national scene, since 1981.
  • Gay and Lesbian Review - The premier forum for the discussion and analysis of contemporary gay, lesbian and bisexual ideas and literature. Topics covered have included the origin of homosexuality, sexual politics and the future of gay writing.
  • Gay Left - a socialist paper produced in London by gay men between 1975 and 1980- this site offers the full text of all nine issues.
  • Georgia Voice
  • Lavender Minnesota's GLBT Magazine - the newspaper of record for LGBT life in Minneapolis and St.Paul.
  • Philadelphia Gay News - A valuable complement to the Washington Blade for tracking news from the Mid-Atlantic states.
  • Pridesource - This is a monthly journal with articles covering national as well as local news stories and the arts of the GLBT community of Michigan.
  • Seattle Gay News On-line - A highly detailed and reliable source for lesbian and gay related news and issues for the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia.
  • The ADVOCATE - Referred to as “the New York Times of Gay America” this national newsmagazine was founded in 1967 has continued to publish commentary and information on all aspects of Americana nd ionternational gay life for over forty years.
  • Washington Blade (District of Columbia) - One of the oldest continuing papers serving the United States gay community, founded in 1971. Useful as a close monitor of Congressional political action and local DC news.
  • Windy City Times ( Chicago ) -the only remaining weekly LGBT newspaper of record for Chicago with the demise of Chicago Free Press in 2008.

Organizations

Libraries and Archival Collections

  • ACT UP Oral History Project- A full-text collection of over 100 interviews with surviving members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power- New York.
  • Archives Gaie du Quebec - Collects and preserves all types of documentation (both paper and media) relating to the gay or lesbian community of the province of Quebec.
  • The ArQuives: Canada's LGBTQ2 Archives (Toronto) - Created in 1973 by the collective that produced the newspaper The Body Politic, the Archives' mission is “to collect and maintain information and materials relating to the gay and lesbian movement in Canada and elsewhere.” Researchers investigating any aspect of Canadian gay culture should also visit the site for the Archives Gaie du Quebec for the Francophone viewpoint on specific issues.
  • Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest  
  • Gerber/Hart Library and Archives (Chicago) - Founded in 1981, this collection's primary focus is on the collection and preservation of the Midwest's homosexual and bisexual history.
  • IHLIA LGBT Heritage (Amsterdam) - One of the primary European archival collections on homosexual history, with holdings reaching back to 1870 and ranging from traditional sexology research to contemporary periodicals.
  • James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center and Collections (San Francisco Public Library) - A showpiece of the new San Francisco Public Library, this major research center's collections focuses both in the national and worldwide gay and lesbian communities. Information on the extensive archival holdings of the Center, including the personal papers of politician Harvey Milk and journalist Randy Shilts, is provided.
  • June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives: Insuring the Future By Preserving the Past - Originally known as the West Coast Lesbian Collection, these are the only archives in the western United States “dedicated exclusively to preserving lesbian history.” Holdings reach back to 1895 and include the papers of veteran lesbian activists Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin.
  • Leather Archives and Museum -A unique institution based in Chicago covering the history of the leather/levi community, with substantial holdings about gay men and lesbians.
  • Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive ( UK )
  • Lesbian Herstory Archives
  • Lesbian and Gay Pulp Fiction Collection (Duke University) -- This detailed site offers an extensive annotated bibliography of many lesbian pulp titles and, uniquely, a list of films made based on them. Readers unfamiliar with the genre will find the Introduction essay an excellent beginning.
  • LGBTQ Religious Archives Network - ”The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Religious Archives Network (LGBT-RAN) coordinates and supports the identification, collection and preservation of personal papers and organizational records from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender religious movements. To encourage scholarly research and historical study of these important movements for social change, LGBT-RAN disseminates information about these records and provides and facilitates access to them, using digital technology when possible.“
  • ONE Institute International Gay and Lesbian Archives (Los Angeles) - Housed at the University of Southern California, this collection was formed in 1994 through the merger of the library of ONE (the oldest continuing homosexual activist group in the western hemisphere, founded in 1952) and the huge private collection of veteran activist Jim Kepner.
  • QueerZineArchive Project - ”The mission of the Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP) is to establish a “living history” archive of past and present queer zines and to encourage current and emerging zine publishers to continue to create. In curating such a unique aspect of culture, we value a collectivist approach that respects the diversity of experiences that fall under the heading “queer.””
  • Rainbow History Project (Washington, D.C.) - The Rainbow History Project formed November 4, 2000, .... came out of frustration at trying to identify archives and sources of information on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered history in metropolitan Washington DC. ...The group's purpose has always been to preserve our community's memories. Among our highest priority initial projects was the capturing of community members' memories for an oral history project. Our mission is to collect, preserve, and promote an active knowledge of the history, arts, and culture relevant to sexually diverse communities in metropolitan Washington DC.
  • The Gay Peoples Union Collection -Based at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, the primary materials in this collection offer access to the history of the first major gay rights activist group in the city.
  • The History Project (Boston, Massachusetts) - ” The History Project is an all-volunteer organization focused on several important initiatives: conducting research on lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgenders in Massachusetts , preserving the documentary record of that community's social and historical contributions, providing a forum for educating the general public. The History Project - established in 1980 by a group of historians, activists and archivists - is the only group focused exclusively on preserving the history of Boston’s LGBT community, and on making that history accessible to future generations.”

Business Groups

Politics

Minority Gays and Lesbians

Subject Guide

Profile Photo
Robert Ridinger
Contact:
268A Founders Memorial Library, Northern Illinois University, De Kalb, IL 6015-2868.