World Book Day - the Whittaker Library recalls the LGBT Human Library

Last year, as part of LGBT History Month and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's own Bridge Week, the RCS's Gender Equality Society ran a Human Library. This was to get people talking openly together about their sexual orientations, gender presentations and identifications. It also increased the visibility of LGBT students and staff within RCS.

A Human Library is one made up of people, instead of books. Visitors came along and picked a person to “loan out” i.e. chat to for 10 minutes. There were 15 “books”, who all identified as part of, or are an ally of, the LGBTQI+ community.* They all chose a title for themselves as a book for a “conversation starter”, e.g. “Binary Breaker”, and these were displayed on the wall around the library.

Both the “books” and the people who visited the library experienced meaningful conversations around gender and sexuality. This also allowed a space for those who are part of the RCS LGBTQI+ community to connect and talk about their shared experiences.

These conversations were captured in an informal setting, after the project, with all the books listening to each other. We hope the openness, frankness and complexity of each individual book comes across, as it really was an enriching process for all who took part.

You can have a look at one or all of the books by visiting the Human Library here.

* LQBTQI+ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Questioning and Intersex

Visit The Human Library, 2-6 February 2015 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

The Whittaker Library has a "human library" this week - it's one of the events organised by our students during Bridge Week.  If you are passing by, do come and "borrow" a human for a conversation as part of LGBT History Month.  There are 6-8 people available to chat with.
No date stamps will be used, and we ask you to treat the human books with the same respect you'd show our conventional book stock!

Online Trials of LGBT Videos

As we come to the end of LGBT month, the Whittaker Library is happy to announce that we have been kindly offered a trial access of the online resource, LGBT Studies in Video.

 

From today through 13th March 2013, all students, faculty, and staff may access LGBT Studies in Video here.  (NB, the trial is designed for on-campus use.)

"LGBT Studies in Video is a cinematic survey of the lives of lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people and the cultural and political evolution of the LGBT community.  This first-of-its-kind collection features award-winning documentaries, interviews, archival footage, and select feature films exploring LGBT history, gay culture and subcultures, civil rights, marriage equality, LGBT families, AIDS, transgender issues, religious perspectives on homosexuality, global comparative experiences, and other topics.  The collection will have cross-disciplinary relevance beyond LGBT courses, serving research and teaching in different academic and performance fields.  The plan is to expand the collection to 500 hours in the not too distant future."

Please make use of this while we have access to it.  Do let Drama and Dance Librarian Alan Jones know what you think of it - you'll find his details on the Whittaker Library website.