James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

We are moving to Tumblr!

The James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center blog Queerest.Library.Ever is moving to Tumblr!
snapshot of our new tumblr page
Snapshot of our new Tumblr page, showing the title of  our Tom of Finland post.

The Tumblr platform will help us reach new audiences. It is also very mobile-device friendly!

Our screen name on Tumblr is sfplhormelcenter, and you can find us at https://sfplhormelcenter.tumblr.com/

And don't worry, you can still find all of our past Blogger posts, going back to our illustrious beginnings in 2009, on the Tumblr site.

Please find us and follow us on Tumblr; we look forward to interacting with you there!







Friday, December 1, 2017

NEH Grant to Digitize Historical Materials on HIV/AIDS in the San Francisco Bay Area

In recognition of World AIDS Day, we want to highlight a digitization project recently funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant supports the scanning of paper archives that document the experiences of people with AIDS, and the medical, political, and community responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the San Francisco bay area. San Francisco Public Library, UCSF Archives and Special Collections, and the GLBT Historical Society will provide the primary source material from their extensive HIV/AIDS-related collections.

Article in Scrapbook 1
(San Francisco General Hospital AIDS Ward 5B/5A Archives)

The library's archival material is drawn from the San Francisco History Center and from the Hormel LGBTQIA Center. A few of the collections that will be scanned, in whole or in part, are: the Deaf AIDS Center Collection, the Vincent diaries, Gary Fisher's journals, and the San Francisco General Hospital AIDS Ward 5B/5A Archives. Portions of these collections will be unavailable during the scanning process.

San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration, 1988
(San Francisco General Hospital AIDS Ward 5B/5A Archives)

The project is currently underway and will continue for another year and half. UCSF Archives and Special Collections just posted some additional information on the project with examples from their own collections. Once completed the digitized material will be available through Calisphere, a part of the California Digital Library. The San Francisco Public Library is excited to increase the visibility of these materials and to make them accessible to a wider audience.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

A Small Collection of Exaggerated Proportions

Tom of Finland Drawings (GLC 108)
LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library
With the release of Dome Karukoski's film Tom of Finland, there is renewed interest in the life and work of Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen (1920-1991). Better known as Tom of Finland, his work appeals to and represents an entire community of gay men who enjoy the erotic charge of leather, uniforms, and well-muscled men.

A search in the library’s online catalog reveals several books about Tom of Finland and a documentary. The books include: Tom of Finland: Life and Work of a Gay Hero and Tom of Finland: His Life and Times by F. Valentine Hooven, et al.; Tom of Finland: The Art of Pleasure, text by Micha Ramakers; Tom House: Tom of Finland in Los Angeles (2016); and Dirty Pictures: Tom of Finland, Masculinity, and Homosexuality by Micha Ramakers. The 1993 documentary is called Daddy and the Muscle Academy: Tom of Finland.

Tom of Finland Drawings (GLC 108)
LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library

However, you might not be aware that the library owns five original Tom of Finland drawings (GLC 108). In June 2015, Tom Nicoll contacted the LGBTQIA Center to see if we would be interested in some original artwork by Tom of Finland. Naturally, we jumped at the chance. Nicoll, who was a friend of Tom of Finland's, had a small collection of drawings that nicely represented the various themes of Tom of Finland's work: hyper-masculine men in uniforms or leather and in erotically charged scenarios.

Tom of Finland Drawings (GLC 108)
LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library
We selected 5 representative pieces. In one, a beach scene with five men, the jeans-clad fellow in the distance is Tom Nicoll. He also shared a copy of a photo taken in his younger years. These five original drawings are available through the San Francisco History Center, 6th floor, Main Library. The artwork is housed, quite appropriately, in an oversized folder.

Tom Nicoll, Tom of Finland Drawings (GLC 108)
LGBTQIA Center, San Francisco Public Library

Monday, October 16, 2017

October at the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center


Join us for these free queer events at the Main Library!
Details and room info linked below.

Mondays Oct. 23 and Oct. 30, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Tay Day in the Hormel center
LGBTQ youth ages 18-25


Thurs. Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. 
Butch Lesbians of the 20s, 30s, and 40s Coloring Book
A Hands On Experience


















Tues., Oct. 31, 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Undercover Girl
The Lesbian Informant Who Helped the FBI Bring Down the Communist Party
Presented by author Lisa E. Davis





















QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? Please contribute, and we'll respond. Thanks and hope to see you face-to-face at our programs!