June is Pride Month for the LGBTQIA+ community. From the Library of Congress:
“Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States…The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.”
The American Library Association (ALA) celebrates it as Rainbow Book Month™
“Rainbow Book Month™ is a nationwide celebration of the authors and writings that reflect the lives and experiences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, genderqueer, queer, intersex, agender, and asexual community. As of 2020, GLBT Book Month™ (celebrated by the American Library Association since 2015) has been renamed Rainbow Book Month™…This occasion is an opportunity for book lovers and libraries (to share) the very best in LGBTQIA+ literature.”
The CU library has a book display up celebrating those writings, this year especially highlighting books for teens and books about expanding our understanding of gender beyond the male/female binary.
Here’s are some resources to read online until you can get to the library to check out some books:
- The Complete Guide to Queer Pride Flags by Ariel Sobel
- LGBTQIA+ Studies: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
And some recommendations for Pride Month reading from the New York Public Library:
Pride reading recommendations from ALA:
- Stonewall Book Awards – The first and longest-enduring award for GLBT literature
- Rainbow Books – for Kids and Teens
- Over the Rainbow Books – for Adult Readers
If you see books on these lists that are not in the CU library’s holdings, let us know and we will consider purchasing your suggested title. Send suggestions to reference@castleton.edu.