Colleges and universities offer a wealth of information through their print book collections, databases, and other research materials. Your public library may have access to some databases and research materials as well. In the United States, libraries have pledged to uphold the secrecy of patron borrowing records. The American Library Association has a “Library Bill of Rights” and associated interpretation.[4] If you are interested in a history of LGBTQ+ information in libraries, the Wikipedia page “Libraries and the LGBTQ Community” has more information.[5]
LGBTQ+ studies is highly interdisciplinary. This means that you may find relevant resources from several academic disciplines that adopt LGBTQ+ theories and research methods or that study LGBTQ+ populations, cultures, histories, and issues. Your library catalog is a good place to search for a wide range of information sources in various disciplines. The online library catalog allows people to look for books, e-books, media, online resources, and other content that the library owns or to which it has access. Visit your library website or consult with your librarian to learn about your particular library catalog’s features and interface.
Physical items are organized by call number. LGBTQ+ specific call numbers exist in the two major systems. Kristine Nowak and Amy Jo Mitchell identify and challenge the Library of Congress’s LGBTQ+ call numbers, and Doreen Sullivan identifies and problematizes the Dewey decimal classification’s LGBTQ+ call numbers.[6] Because LGBTQ+ studies crosses disciplines, you will likely find books on your topic in different call number sections.
Libraries such as Ohio Wesleyan University Libraries often use Library of Congress subject headings to classify their materials. Searching simultaneously for LGBTQ+ materials in the library catalog according to the subject headings with keyword searching may retrieve more relevant results than keyword searching alone. The librarians at Indiana University Bloomington have generated a helpful list of the LGBTQ+ Library of Congress subject headings that currently exist; this list will continue to evolve over time.[7]
The following terms represent the initial entries under "L":
Leather bars
Leather contests
Leather lifestyle
Legal assistance to gays
Legal assistance to transgender people
Lesbian activists
Lesbian actresses
Lesbian anthropologists
Students and faculty at academic institutions have access to academic databases. Databases include e-book collections, journal articles or their abstracts, streaming media (videos or audio files), and data sets. These resources are curated, organized, and described so that they can be searched with precision. These databases are often not accessible to anyone without an official user ID and password issued by the academic institution. Public libraries may provide access to some databases, and some (but not all) academic institutions offer access to online resources for those who visit in person. Not all libraries have research databases exclusively on LGBTQ+ subjects, but almost all academic libraries have general databases that index materials that support LGBTQ+ studies. We recommend the databases available for LGBTQ+ studies research listed in table 12.1.
Table 12.1 Databases
General academic
LGBTQ+ studies
Alternative Press Index
LGBT Thought and Culture
Alternative Press Archive
LGBT Life Full Text (EBSCO)
Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
Archives of Sexuality and Gender
GenderWatch
JSTOR
ProQuest
PsycINFO
SAGE Full Text
Sociological Abstracts
Social Sciences Full Text
Women’s Studies International
Like library catalogs, databases often also use subject headings. Some databases have their own preferred subject headings for LGBTQ+ topics, so it is best to use those preferred search terms and subject headings even if they may not be familiar or the most acceptable terminology. Some databases still prefer the search term and subject heading “homosexual” to “gay,” for example, so you will need to include those problematic terms when searching those databases. The Directory of Open Access Journals, which makes scholarly journal articles in multiple languages freely available, is particularly problematic in its indexing, because it has no subject headings or preferred keywords specific to LGBTQ+ topics.[8] Using this directory will involve multiple searches using different keywords. You can often find a link to the list of subject headings used by a particular database on the search page by looking for a “Thesaurus” link. A librarian can help you with this if you get stuck.
Most college and university libraries make available respected, peer-reviewed LGBTQ+ journals, although library access to these journals varies. Notable examples of journals appropriate for academic research include the Journal of Homosexuality, the Journal of LGBTQ Youth, and GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies.
The Journal of Homosexuality, established in 1976, features articles that explore gender and sexual identities and communities from a variety of disciplinary perspectives (www.tandfonline.com/journals/wjhm20). The Journal of LGBTQ Youth, established in 2008, is a forum for improving the lives of LGBTQ+ youth. It contains first-person narratives by young people, practitioner reports, and research-based scholarship (www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjly20). GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, established in 1991, publishes interdisciplinary articles focused on sex and sexuality (read.dukeupress.edu/glq).
Databases usually provide an abstract, or summary, of an individual journal article, but not all provide the full text of the articles. Many libraries have systems that either link to the full text or direct you to request it through interlibrary loan, but every library does this a little bit differently. If you are having trouble accessing the full text of an article, contact your librarian for help.
Although the authors of books and journal articles analyze and write about the impact of laws, culture, religion, or other elements of civilization on LGBTQ+ people—or how LGBTQ+ people themselves affect those things—it is important to read and interpret those laws, policies, and original documents yourself. For this reason, let’s move ahead to talk about government documents and primary sources.
Laws, Reports, and Government-Provided Health Information
Governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations (UN), and advocacy groups all publish information related to LGBTQ+ populations. This information includes laws from different countries; NGO, UN, and advocacy-group reports about conditions for LGBTQ+ people or how particular laws affect these populations; and information related to LGBTQ+ health issues, including HIV/AIDS, women’s health issues, and transgender health issues.
We often learn about laws or policies that affect LGBTQ+ populations through popular media. Journalists and bloggers often give a law or policy a short, catchy name, but the actual name of the law may be much longer. For example, the Russian “gay propaganda law” that people refer to in the media is actually a section of Russian Federation Federal Law no. 436-FZ of 2010-12-23, on Protection of Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development, titled “For the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values.” You can find this out by conducting a search in Google or other search engines, asking, “What is the real name of the gay propaganda law?” If you use the official name of the law in your search, the results will be more likely to come from official government or NGO reports.
Because of unique methods of organizing information in governmental and legal fields, finding sources such as governmental publications, bills, or court cases may require the assistance of a librarian. For more information about different types of government documents, consult the “Government Publications” subject guide(opens in new window) from St. Cloud State University developed by the research librarian Michael Gorman.[9] You might also see if your library has its own guide on this topic.
Governments often provide health information to the public, including health information for or about LGBTQ+ people. In the United States, the federal government is the country’s largest publisher. To search for congressional recordings, Supreme Court opinions, congressional bills, and other documents on how the federal government refers to LGBTQ+ populations and topics, visit Discover U.S. Government Information (www.govinfo.gov). To search across different government websites, go to USA.gov (www.usa.gov). The easiest way to locate laws and government information from other countries is to use a search engine. A Northwestern University government information librarian, Anne Zald, also created an excellent list of foreign government websites.[10] If you are interested in government health information for or about LGBTQ+ people in other countries, you can try adding the name of the country to the search string. If you are unable to locate anything that way, search within the government’s official website for more information.
The UN provides statistics and reports about LGBT demographics, health, laws, and human rights abuses. The search string “united nations LGBT*” retrieves information from the UN about resolutions and reports on LGBT issues worldwide. Other NGOs and advocacy groups may also provide similar reports.
Sometimes LGBTQ+ people seek out legal or medical advice for personal matters from library resources. Although the library can assist people in locating information on laws, policies, and health, only lawyers or doctors can provide counsel for legal or medical decisions. Consult with a lawyer, medical professional, NGO, or advocacy group friendly to LGBTQ+ people for help with personal legal or medical issues.
From the Archives: Historical LGBTQ+ Primary Source Material
Sometimes you need to find primary sources for your topic.[11] LGBTQ+ studies research depends on primary sources to see firsthand how LGBTQ+ people existed in the past and exist in the present. Primary sources can be in physical and digital formats. Archives are curated collections of primary sources that are preserved for their historic or cultural significance. Archives are organized, curated, and described by archivists and other archival workers.
Trade Secrets: ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives
One of the oldest archives of LGBTQ+ material in the United States is held in Los Angeles. Watch this video about the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives to get an idea of what LGBTQ+ archives do and what they collect. (youtu.be/Pe6ko6XejHc)
Do you think it is important to collect and curate historical artifacts? Explain.
What is the most interesting thing you learned about LGBTQ+ history from watching this video?
If you had unlimited time and resources, what LGBTQ+ archive would you work to create? Why?
Archival LGBTQ+ content is important for several reasons: It often provides historical perspective on the topic you are studying and informs your research to prevent ahistorical claims from sneaking into your argument. Archival material provides firsthand accounts, photographs, audiovisual material, contemporary reactions to people and ideas, and ephemera (e.g., buttons, flyers, posters, and other objects). Archives are important for research also because they collect materials that are based on some shared characteristic (e.g., they all belonged to one person, or they document a particular event, time period, movement, or organization). This allows the researcher to encounter multiple archival objects alongside related objects and thereby gain some historical or thematic perspective. Objects from archives specific to LGBTQ+ issues may also expose you to content in individuals’ own voices, which can add another dimension to your knowledge about a topic.
Archives dedicated to LGBTQ+ material exist around the world. To find such archives, IHLIA LGBT Heritage of Amsterdam maintains an extensive list of links to worldwide LGBTQ+ archives.[12] Sometimes archives without an LGBTQ+ focus will create special exhibits related to LGBTQ+ individuals and content in their collections as well.
Archives are often collections of physical materials, digital content, or both. Often, a researcher will visit a physical archive in person to review materials. Many archives make information about their materials available online so that you can decide whether the content is likely to be relevant to your project. If you are a student at a college or university, check with your library; your institution may have archival collections of its own. Digital archives offer more access, but keep in mind that the digital collection might not include everything from the physical collection.
The following resources are good places to begin searching for digital primary source materials:
Library of Congress Digital Collections. “LGBTQ+ Studies: A Resource Guide.”[13]
IHLIA LGBT Heritage. The primary source materials from European LGBTQ+ organizations on this website have a focus on Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.[14]
OutHistory.org. Created by pioneering LGBTQ+ historian Jonathan Ned Katz, this website is an online digital archive of primary source LGBTQ+ materials.[15]
A Note on Search Engines
Databases and library catalogs collect and organize a specific set of resources for research purposes that can be accessed through browsing or searching. Search engines do not curate or organize information at all. Instead, a search engine such as Google uses the keywords that you enter to search publicly accessible internet content. This is why a search in Google will result in hundreds of thousands of results on a topic, including shopping sites, blogs, and news sites, of inconsistent quality, whereas your database search will generally return a smaller set of more specific results.
When discussing search, it is impossible to ignore the role of Google and Google Scholar. See the later section “Biases and LGBTQ+ Information Availability” for more information about algorithmic bias at work when you search for information. Remember also that data is collected about you when you interact with most online platforms and that your data is valuable; Google isn’t the only offender, but as a company it has an enormous reach. You have a choice of search engines, and some have better privacy practices and take user privacy and safety into account.[16]
With those caveats in mind, know that Google remains the most frequently used search engine in the world. To keep up to date on Google search strategies, tools, and features, refer to the Google Support Center, as well as the Google Advanced Search page. Helpful articles from online magazines LifeHack and PC Mag also provide great Google tricks.[17] Google Scholar is a popular and accessible search engine for retrieving abstracts, full-text scholarly journal articles, e-books, and government and NGO reports. For a complete rundown on Google Scholar features and how to use the tool, visit the Google Scholar Search Tips page.[18]
