LGBTQIA+ Issues Discussion #4: Queer History
24 July 2024
Considering either the library you work for or the one you are using for the evaluation, what kinds of projects could you envision to highlight local queer history? In what ways would you ensure the projects were intersectional and inclusive? What kinds of queer history are you aware of in that area that the library could highlight? If you don't know of any, where is the closest repository/archive/historical society that would have queer history preserved?
As far as I know, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, the local library I work at, doesn't pursue a lot of projects having to do with queerness. There are a couple of monthly book clubs run in partnership with the local LGBTQ+ organization, a handful of book lists, and a Pride Month page with links to all that, plus links to some history resources for decent measure (Central Rappahannock Regional Library, n.d.). Predictably, the book lists haven't been updated in a couple years, and more importantly, all those resources are from national organizations, so there's nothing that gives a sense that queerness receives much spotlight outside of June, much less its history within the region.
Fortunately and/or ironically, just around the corner from the branch I usually work at is the Fredericksburg Area Museum—and not even two months ago did it unveil its new Out and About exhibit, focused on unearthing the histories and stories of queer people in the region (Fredericksburg Area Museum, n.d.). I haven't had the chance to visit yet, but a feature in a local paper gives the sense that the FAM's curators tried stuffing as much as possible in the space they had for it: clippings from local newspapers, timelines of the region and specific organizations, oral histories, mementos, drag performance recordings, and more (Knotts, 2024). While the exhibit will only be around for two years, preservation seems to be on the mind of its curators, with the head curator working on a documentary of local LGBTQ+ history in the meantime.
Now, the easy and obvious route for CRRL to highlight local queer history would be some sort of collaboration with FAM involving displaying stuff from their collection in branches somehow. Of course, that would be an even more temporary affair than the exhibit itself, for history that would almost certainly be buried were it not for the curators that recovered it, in an institution that is (spiritually) devoted to preservation. To that note, I'd suggest something that actually does have precedence for the system, very recent precedence at that: collaborating with the FAM to publish a book on local queer history.
In 2018, owners of an antique store finally realized a ringed stack of papers they'd picked up long ago was in fact a manuscript for the book Rachel's Dream, which they brought the attention of a former genealogy worker at CRRL. Five years, a small grant, and pandemic-caused bumps later, Rachel's Dream was finally published in 2022, with numerous of copies added to the system and sent out to schools in the region (Dyson, 2023). With queer material already collected and exhibited at the FAM, compiling the stories behind the exhibit into a book would preserve the city's queer history and make it accessible to any library user.
References
Central Rappahanock Regional Library. (n.d.). June is Pride Month. Retrieved July 23, 2024, from: https://www.librarypoint.org/pride-month/
Dyson, C. (2023, November 1). City library fulfills quest to publish “Rachel’s Dream.” Fredericksburg Free Lance Star. https://fredericksburg.com/news/local/city-library-fulfills-quest-to-publish-rachels-dream/article_7cc0c8d0-77f8-11ee-bb98-7be006c56245.html
Fredericksburg Area Museum (n.d.). Out and About. Retrieved July 23, 2024, from: https://famva.org/out-and-about/
Knotts, K. (2024, June 8). Out and About: FAM exhibit shines light on area’s LGBTQ+ community. Fredericksburg Free Press. https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2024/06/08/fam-exhibit-explores-queer-community/