Last Call! Final Week for 20th Anniversary Exhibition!

They say all good things must come to an end. And that is the case with our 20th anniversary exhibition Queerest.Library.Ever. One week from today, Sunday, August 7th is the last day to see the show before we begin to put back all of the letters, scrapbooks, photos, and objects.

Tom Nicoll viewing the Tom of Finland display
(Photo courtesy of Brian Castagne)

I know you're asking "What does that really mean?"

It means...
If you haven't had a chance to see Gay Monopoly, go to the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch library, go directly to EVA, do not pass go...there you'll see Queer and Quirky: OBJECTifying Ourselves.

It also means...
If you're wondering who was on the Hormel Founders Committee and what their hairstyles were 20-odd years ago, you should visit the Hormel Center exhibition on the 3rd floor of the Main Library. You'll find materials on the beginnings of the Center and photos from the Shades of LGBTQI collecting project along with original artwork from Reversing Vandalism.

Sylvester
(GLC 101 Collection on Sylvester)

And if you'd like to see a photo of a young Sylvester, and of an even younger Jewelle Gomez, you'll want to stop by the Main Library's Jewett Gallery (lower level). The exhibition showcases an array of archival material that highlights activism, community and the ways we find to come together, visual representation of ourselves and by ourselves, and lesbian love within literary and publishing circles.

And, finally, if you'd like to know what we had on display 10 years ago, visit the Main Library's 6th floor bridge to rediscover the traveling panel exhibition "Out At The Library."

Don't miss your chance to see the exhibition. Plan to visit this week.

Some Matchless Objects of Our Affection

We dismiss many objects from everyday life because they are commonplace and readily available. Think paper napkins, postcard notices for upcoming events, business cards, political buttons and pins, T-shirts with slogans, matchbooks, and even pencils engraved with business names. These items (called "realia" in library lingo) most often find their way to trash cans or recycling bins.

But on some occasions, they make their way to the archives where they serve as a fun piece of history. The exhibition Queer and Quirky: OBJECTifying Ourselves highlights objects from the  James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center's archives. This portion of the Hormel Center's 20th anniversary exhibition is on display at the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library. Other portions of the Queerest. Library. Ever. exhibition are on display at the Main Library.

Harvey Milk Photo Center Pride Exhibition

We are pleased to announce the opening of

LGBTQ: Chronicled: 1933–2016

Harvey Milk Photo Center
50 Scott Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

The exhibition runs from June 18-July 16, 2016.
Opening reception: Saturday, June 18 from 4-9 p.m.

The event is free to the public.

Harvey Milk with Navy friends taken in Hollywood, between 1953-1954
(Harvey Milk Archives-Scott Smith Collection)

The exhibition features work by Saul Bromberger, Sandra Hoover, Chloe Jackman, Preston Gannaway, Skot Jonz, Bill Wilson, Hossein  Carney, Paul Margolis, Rick Gerharter, Minor White, Rink, Hal Fischer, Daniel Nicoletta, David Ayllon, Efren Ramirez, Dwayne Newton, Peter Thoshinsky, CJ Lucero, and Lucky Milo Whitburn-Thomas.

The library is pleased to partner with the Harvey Milk Photo Center and has provided 14 photos from 6 of its archival collections: the John Gruber Papers, the Harvey Milk Archives-Scott Smith Collection, the Harry Hay Papers, the Peter Adair Papers, the Rikki Streicher and Mary Sager Photograph Albums, and the Cliff Anchor Papers. For more information about these collections, visit the archives at the San Francisco History Center, 6th floor, Main Library.

Considerate Vandalism Considered

This month I am full of questions. Without many answers.
Musing. Not amused or bemused. But confused, perhaps.

Since mid-March I have been focused on the Queerest. Library. Ever. exhibition here at the library. It is a big celebration for the 20th anniversary of the Hormel LGBTQIA Center, its programs, and its collections including the archives. Consequently I've been busy assisting the curator with many of the attendant details. I've been so wrapped up in preparations that I feel like one of the library's carefully sheltered artifacts that is protected from climate changes in the real world. One event this week peeled back those protective layers.

Out at the Library panel exhibit

The LGBTQIA archives are available through the San Francisco History Center on the 6th floor of the Main Library. As part of the big exhibition, the Out At The Library panel exhibit from the 10th anniversary of the Hormel Center is on the 6th floor bridge, about 40 feet away from the History Center's entrance. When I got back from lunch last week, a fellow librarian alerted me that there was something taped to one of the panels. And then another colleague mentioned the same. So I took a look.

I found a pamphlet titled "Thank You For Praying" taped to one of the panels. While the message seemed clear, I had to smile because it was taped with clear packing tape in the space between two pictured documents, Harvey Milk's datebook for 1978 and his speech "You've Got To Have Hope." The clear tape and pamphlet placement meant that the content of the exhibition was not obscured. One might call it considerate vandalism.

The pamphlet and tape were removed without damaging the panels but it left me wondering. Had the perpetrator read any of the text of the exhibition? How premeditated was the placement of the pamphlet? Did he or she choose a spot midway along the exhibition so that taping the pamphlet would be hidden from view? or was the location selected because it was Harvey Milk?

Out at the Library panel exhibit

The last lines of Milk's "You've Got To Have Hope" speech are: "Each of those people have his or her own hopes and aspirations, his or her own viewpoints and problems. Each of them contributes something unique to the life of the city. What they contribute, we call the 'quality of life.'"

In these past few days I've been helping with the installation of objects and labels. As a novice with exhibitions, I've found it's easy to have too many things in one case because everything tells a story, and every story is unique, and some are interconnected, and...You see my point. The archives is full of stories and objects, books and videos, that beg, and sometimes demand, to be heard.

What I've learned is that too many objects in one place results in the mental equivalent of shopping fatigue. The eyes need an empty space to rest. Similarly, the mind needs space before it can apprehend and comprehend. In a very real sense the library is that clear, open space. With a silence that welcomes a question. And a quiet space...to listen and to hear. Ideally to reflect and to respect. And, perhaps, to understand. That is what I pray for.

A Compassionate Eye: The Work of Victor Arimondi

Fearless, passionate, brave and timeless - the work of Victor Arimondi stands the test of time and informs us today, as much as when it was made, of the many complexities and challenges of the human condition with an uncanny grace, compassion and elegance. This exhibition, the first by an institution since his passing in 2001 - encompasses the many threads of his photographic work that touch portraiture, still life, social commentary and documentary, fashion, experimental work, and the abstract.

Exhibition: From September 12 through December 10, 2009

Main Library, Third Floor, James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center