Out of the Closet & Onto the Shelves: Librarians and the Oldest Gay Professional Organization in the U.S.

June is pride month, which means that our exhibit Out of the Closet & Onto the Shelves: Librarians and the Oldest Gay Professional Organization in the U.S. is up in the Marshall Gallery at the University of Illinois Library. This exhibit documents the early history and development of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association. This organization has a rich history documented in the archives, and we are excited to display these materials to library patrons this month. However, we couldn’t fit everything in the exhibit and we know that not everyone can make it to campus, so here we will share some highlights of GLBT Round Table history. Be sure to stop by the Marshall Gallery June 1-30 to view the exhibit, and visit the American Library Association Archives to see more of this exciting collection. Continue reading “Out of the Closet & Onto the Shelves: Librarians and the Oldest Gay Professional Organization in the U.S.”

“Lots of Love (of both the revolutionary and non-revolutionary kind)”: the History of the ALA’s GLBT Round Table

A Gay Liberation March Flyer, found in RS 49/35/1.
A flyer for a Gay Liberation march, found in the GLBT Round Table Subject Files, Record Series 49/35/1.

The GLBT Round Table is a group with a lot of firsts. Formed during the 1970 Annual Conference in Chicago as the “Gay Liberation Task Force,” a part of the larger Social Responsibilities Round Table, they were the first profession-based gay organization. [1] The next year, they established the first award for gay literature, now called the Stonewall Award. That same year they also published the first gay bibliography, which was a response to the lack of gay-positive books in libraries.

Continue reading ““Lots of Love (of both the revolutionary and non-revolutionary kind)”: the History of the ALA’s GLBT Round Table”