Back To the Main SiteA Gender Agenda on LibraryThing
Currently we’re working hard on getting some kind of physical premises where we can open our Gender Library. We have now spent all the money from the grant, and so there are several boxes of books in my lounge room right now. The sex and gender diverse community has donated a spectacular number of books to this project, and we are immensely grateful for everyone’s support!
Setting up a library is quite a lot of work! Even though we don’t have a premises, and so wont be loaning the books out for some time, there are still plenty of tasks to keep me occupied. I need to input each books information into our library software, cover each book so that it doesn’t get damaged, and put stickers on the ones that are not for loan, and warning labels on heinous titles like ‘The Transsexual Empire’ by Janice Raymond.
Tonight I created a LibraryThing account for the Gender Library, so that I could access their nifty ‘recommendations’ feature, and reviews of some of the books I haven’t read, so that I could put appropriate information into our software.
There are currently 117 books listed, which is by no means all of the books we have. We also have a number of pamphlets, zines, and magazines that are published by small community groups, and so do not have ISBN’s, and we have DVD’s, and a few Aussie books that just weren’t listed in the US Databases. Not to mention the books we purchased from Melbourne which I still need to collect!
Anyway, if you would like to have a look through the books listed, this is our Profile, and this is our list of books. Feel free to make recommendations of titles, or let me know if there is a book in the collection that I should put a ‘Warning: Transphobic Content” label on!
Gender Library Update
A Gender Agenda has been very busy over the last few months. Even though we’ve not been updating the website much, plenty has been happening. We’ve held a fundraiser, continued lobbying the ACT Government for legislative change, provided free training for a group of local volunteers, supported student politics, and generally been out in the world, trying our hands at new things.
I think one of the most exciting new idea’s that we’ve had, has been the AGA Gender Library. The rationale behind the project, is that here in Canberra we don’t have a queer focussed bookshop, and none of the local LGBT Organisations have any trans employees, or information for or by trans/genderqueer or intersex people. This means that there is a dearth of information for sex and gender diverse people, and for those people who wish to educate themselves, and become more knowledgeable supporters of the sex and gender diverse individuals in Canberra. We thought that if we could collect enough of that material, we could provide a social and informational hub where people can gather to learn and talk about the myriad of issues that face the sex and gender diverse community both locally, and further afield.
A few months ago we sent out requests for book donations, and titles of books that people thought we should purchase, and since then we’ve been accumulating a stock pile of literature, films, and resources for transgendered, intersex, genderqueer, and other sex and gender diverse people. I currently have two big boxes of books in my lounge room, that have been donated by people from all over the country. The Bookshop Darlinghurst was kind enough to give us a 10% discount on the books we purchased from them, and an organisation in the USA refunded us the cost of our shipping when they heard what the books were for.
The public support of this project has been absolutely phenomenal. We’re currently looking for some kind of physical space where we can set up our library, and we’re hoping to have everything good to go so that our grand opening can coincide with Gender Diversity Day 2010.
Recent Comments