Projects and Research
The Lesbian Herstory Archives
From June to August 2010, I completed an internship and conducted ethnographic research at the Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA) in Brooklyn, New York. The LHA is a grassroots organization that collects and disseminates lesbian information. In contrast to conventional information-based organizations, the LHA is collectively run, “for lesbians, by lesbians,” outside of professional and institutional bounds.
The goal of my research was to convey and contextualize the LHA’s unique, lesbian-specific information environment and the activities found therein. I conducted my research under the auspices of Professor Jenna Hartel’s information ethnography methodology course, “The Information Experience in Context” at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. Working as an intern allowed me to gain unique insight into the LHA through “participant observation,” which is considered the cornerstone of ethnography. As an intern, I performed such duties as: aiding researchers, giving tours, processing archival collections and cataloging the “Spoken Word” audio collection. A major highlight was volunteering as a marshal for the New York City Dyke March.
My research findings revealed that distinct feelings of “comfort,” “trust,” “freedom,” and “discovery” defines information experiences within the LHA context. The LHA, therefore, is not only notable for housing information traditionally ignored or destroyed by society-at-large, but also for fostering a distinct, “informational” setting. My experiences and subsequent findings at the LHA inspired me to develop a research focus on LGBTQ grassroots information organizations more broadly.
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The Pride Library
Over the course of winter semester 2011, I conducted ethnographic research at the Pride Library at the University of Western Ontario towards my Master’s thesis, supervised by Professor Jenna Hartel at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. Originally developed in 1991 by Professor James Miller as a source of supplementary course materials for UWO’s first-ever course on gay and lesbian studies, the Pride Libary has since developed into a collection of 5000+ circulating books, 1000+ non-circulating books, an audio visual collection and the Hudler Archives. Although affiliated with UWO, the Pride Library remains a volunteer-run, grassroots entity.
Building on my previous research at the LHA, the main objective of my study was to explore and articulate the Pride Library environment. My main guiding research question was: is the library valued particularly for the concrete LGBTQ information resources provided or more abstractly as an information-rich site for networking and more social opportunities – or both? As part of my research, I acted as a participant observer by volunteering at and using the Pride Library regularly over an entire semester. Some of my volunteer duties included: creating box lists for the London Lesbian Film Festival film collection, staffing the “Queeries” desk, answering reference questions and shelving books. In addition to volunteering, I also spent a lot of time at the library doing things that other users do, such as: socializing with the “regulars,” reading the collection and doing my own work quietly.
My research resulted in the thesis, “’Big Gay Library:’ An Ethnography of the Pride Library at the University of Western Ontario,” which explores four dimensions of the library: space and place, materials, labour, and users & use. I successfully defended my thesis on August 11, 2011.
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The Sexual Representation Collection
Housed within the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies (SDS), the Sexual Representation Collection (SRC) collects materials relating to the production and representation of sexuality within the media. SDS developed the SRC in the late 90s after acquiring the personal materials of Max Allen, CBC producer and anti-censorship activist. The SRC currently includes collections pertaining to: Tristan Taormino, Lord Morpheous, Playboy Magazine, various pornography films and industry publications, and reference materials (pulp novels and the SexTV accession).
During the 2010-2011 academic year, I completed a work/study project cataloging materials collected in conjunction with the CityTV production, SexTV. The SexTV accession includes around 1000 materials, 898 of which are published books covering such themes as: instructional (on dating, marriage, sex life), fictional, biographical, scholarly and the visual arts.
I continue to be affiliated with the SRC on a voluntary basis, focusing mainly on promoting the collection for scholarly research. Towards these ends, I created a poster with Crystal Williamson entitled, “Emerging Discipline, Emerging Archives: Highlighting the Sexual Representation Collection,” which was presented at the 2010 Association of Canadian Archivists Conference. I also created and presented the poster, “Introducing the Sexual Representation Collection,” co-authored with Nicholas Matte, at the “’We Demand:’ History/Sex/Activism in Canada” conference in August 2011.
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