Connect XVII: Home

Hello and welcome to the Connect newsletter which highlights service and resource updates to help you make effective use of your library and learning services.

Welcome to the Summer Edition of Connect!
Welcome to the Library's LGBTQIA+ special edition of Connect!  If you are new to the library the best place to start is the Welcome to the Library which offers lots of information about library resources and services.

A few highlights for this term:

• New Summer Webinar Programme
• Highlights the wide range of LGBTQIA+ resources to be found in your library - archives, research outputs, zines, dissertations, journals, films and more...
• The work the library is doing to support LGBTQIA+  inclusion.
• How you can effectively find LGBTQIA+ resources for your academic study and practice.

and remember we are here to help - Contact the Library.

A new and exciting programme of library and learning webinars has been scheduled for the new term.  For more information and joining details see - Library & Learning Webinars.

Don't worry if you miss a webinar - Library & Learning Webinars also gives you access to recordings of these and previous webinars.

The Library aims to describe its collections in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and groups who create, use, and are represented within them. Our LGBTQIA+ resources are one such area where efforts are underway to challenge outdated, and potentially harmful, descriptive standards, and substitute them with more inclusive language.

The Library describes resources using Library of Congress Subject Headings, an international standard used by most academic libraries in the UK and US. Using the same standard has many benefits but it also means having to work with old-fashioned terms that can be slow to change.  For example, the term “Gays” has only recently been updated to “Gay people” but the Library of Congress continues to use the term “Sexual minority” despite proposals to update it.

A project that addresses some of these issues is Homosaurus, a data vocabulary of LGBTQIA+ terms which aims to advance the discoverability of LGBTQIA+ resources and information.

The Library have begun to explore this resource to see how we can best use it to benefit our users and have recently added some of these headings to the growing collection of LGBTQIA+ zines at Epsom. The Library is also adding extended summaries to catalogue records where possible to include extra, related, keywords to support greater discoverability of resources.

ResourceBank is where you can access digitised archives, artist books and zines, as well as dissertations. Each year, every dissertation submitted that receives a 70% (a first-class grade) is uploaded to ResourceBank, where it is made available to future students for three years.  You can use the course name and code to select dissertations from your course or use the search bar for key terms.

For dissertations of previous students around LGBTQIA+ themes within video games, animation and film, and fashion see LGBTQIA+ Dissertations.

Your tutors are actively researching LGBTQIA+ issues, you can find details of their work on the University's research repository - UCARO.  A couple of examples: 

Professor Dominic Janes - Dominic is a cultural and arts historian, with a focus on gender, sexuality and religion in Britain since the eighteenth century.  He has written several books including Oscar Wilde Prefigured: Queer Fashioning and British Caricature 1750-1900 (2016) and Visions of Queer Martyrdom from John Henry Newman to Derek Jarman (2015).

Smin Smith - Lecturer in Digital Art, Smin is currently undertaking a doctorate project, titled ‘Queer Feminist Science Fiction Art’, which addresses contemporary artworks as forms of science fiction.  Smin has contributed a chapter entitled 'Feminist Science Fiction Art' to The Routledge Companion to Gender and Science Fiction (2023).

Zines (pronounced zeens) are independent publications that cover a wide range of subjects, from subcultures to activism and feminism.

While traditional zines are cheaply made black and white, photocopied, cut and pasted DIY creations, some look more like expensive magazines. Nonetheless, the ethos behind zines is that anyone can make them, and that they have very few barriers to publication and access.

The Epsom Zines collection has a strong focus on fashion, feminism, and LGBTQIA+ identity:

Mixd Azn Queers
“My voice sometimes gets lost in translation… if I can’t speak my native tongues, will my ancestors understand me?”
This zine shares the stories, visual art, and poetry from many incredible artists and writers, who share the identity of being both queer/trans and mixed race of the Asian diaspora. Filled with gorgeous poetry and illustrations, here is a space for queer mixed Asian expression and connection. 
 

The Boy is Beautiful #3: Hyacinth
“His beauty brings you here, on this page. As you open him up, the scent of Hyacinth floods your senses.” 
Weaving together stories captured through intimate and homoerotic lenses of international photographers and artists, Issue #3 of this independently published magazine sets out to explore diverse facets of ancient and modern-day Greek identity and queer men’s bodies. 

Grrrl in Print #5: Queer Utopias
“Queer worlds… are joyous, liberated, rooted, revolutionary, worlds. What do the queer worlds of your dreams look like?”
Speculative and inspired by a heavy dose of sci-fi, this zine contemplates spaces where robots meet bodies, nourishment of love and food, and how we slow down and remain tender within hyper capitalisation. A vibrant look at how queerness, the environment and home intersect.

Trans Joy Community Quilt Zine
“Individually we are but one thread, together we are interwoven <3”
This zine tells the story of trans community, generosity, and spirit. Created in collaboration with the team behind the quilt, it features powerful essays, interviews and photographs from Daniel Fountain, Rowan Frewin, Alice Bigsby-Bye and Beau Brannick that document the inspiration, processes and stories that went into the Norfolk Trans Joy Community Quilt project.

Last Closet on the Left: Queer Horror Zine
“It’s all about embracing your inner monster and realizing that there’s power in our queerness.”
This issue has been lovingly designed for those who enjoy peeling back the layers of the Horror genre to see what deadly delights spill from within. From vampire twinks to sapphic sirens, Horror’s power to transcend conventional storytelling provides the perfect playground to explore the richness of queer narratives and storytelling.

BOYO #9: Collages & Combines
“My love letter to the one element that has consistently been there - never left me - and always will be - there for me.”
BOYO by London native Patrick Waugh, includes collage cut ups of images of men he’s come across while working in the fashion industry. Issue #9 explores the ocean, fluidity, playfulness, power, and strength – featuring retro photographs of body builders and Australian dancer Rhys Kosakowski.

To mark the end of LGBTQIA+ History month, each campus library hosted a book group on the 29th February, organised by EDI (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) colleague, Luchia Leigh, supported by Outreach, Gateway and Liaison Librarians.  Staff and students were invited to drop by to discuss the following featured books and to share their own recommendations, which included:

Tessa Boffin was a photographer who taught at the University from the 1980s (until her death in 1993).  She specialised in LGBT issues, including work in response to HIV/AIDS and to cross-dressing.  The Library holds her much of her work at the Elaine Thomas Library in Farnham.  Details of which can be found online - The Tessa Boffin Archive and ResourceBank.

Inspired by Tessa Boffin Archive, Ania Kaczyńska, student at the University of York, created a documentary for the Paul Mellon Centre's, British Art in Motion competition. The film explores and celebrates the artistic and cultural significance of Tessa Boffin’s, Angelic Rebels. The film can be seen online at - British Art in Motion 2023.

The book Photography – A Queer History (2024) examines how photography has been used by artists to capture, create, and expand the category Queer. It includes the work of 84 artists, including Tessa Boffin.

Dr Flora Dunster & Dr Theo Gordon are specialist art historians, with interests including queer politics and photography. Separately and together, for the last 7 years, they have been researching and referencing the Tessa Boffin’s Archive.

To effectively search for resources on LibrarySearch as well as the Library databases it is helpful to think about different ways to describe your topic or area of research so that you get a broad range of results:

• Bisexuality
• Queer studies
• Gender identity
• Homosexuality
• Intersexuality
• Lesbianism
• Transgenderism

If you check the “Quick Look” option on LibrarySearch you will see the different Subject Headings which have been used to catalogue the item, these are hyperlinked and will allow you to explore related resources.  You may also find that some of our databases have features that will auto-suggest useful searches for you as you start to type in your keywords.

In addition to our extensive range of print journals, there are lots of library resources available online, published under the theme of LGBTQIA+. These are available 24/7 wherever you have an internet connection.  To browse these resources, use the Journals A-Z which can also be found in the header of myLibrary -

Here are a few examples of what you will discover:

Journal of Gender Studies
The Journal of Gender Studies is a global peer-reviewed journal that is dedicated to the development of original work investigating the intersections of gender with other relevant categories such as sexuality, race, class, ability, age, culture, politics, religion and location.
 

Gay Comix
First published in 1980 by small press specialist Kitchen Sink Press, Gay Comix was an anthology that emerged from the underground comics scene. Despite the bold cover though, Gay Comix was intended to capture the human and humorous side of gay, lesbian, and bisexual experiences of the time.

Gay Times Magazine
Gay Times Magazine includes features on community and cultural conversations that align with the LGBTQ+ community. It has been in continuous publication for more than 530 issues, having spotlighted stories within the community throughout five decades.

Visual Culture & Gender
Visual Culture & Gender is an annual international, peer-reviewed, freely accessed, multimedia online journal whose purpose is to encourage and promote understanding of how visual culture constructs gender in context with representations of race, age, sexuality, (dis)ability, and social class.

Explore LGBTQIA+ Themed Reading List for ideas and inspiration, in addition to a wide range of general resources, themes include - 

• Coming Out
• Transgender 

as well as subject Resources, including - Acting and Performance, Animation, Architecture, Design, Fashion, Film and Television, Fine Art, Photography and Video Games

Selected by the Librarians from Box of Broadcasts (BoB), includes -

• - Carol
• - My Beautiful Laundrette
• - Brokeback Mountain
• - Call Me by Your Name
• - Moonlight, and lots more...

Midsummer Night’s Dream, BBC (2016) from Digital Theatre+
Russell T Davies’ adaptation is a dystopian take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, following a series of events that unfold as Theseus plans to marry Hippolyta. Captured in 2016 as part of the BBC’s 400th anniversary of Shakespeare, this modern TV production unites a cast, including Matt Lucas, Maxine Peake, Nonso Anozie and Paapa Essiedu, with some big-screen special effects.

Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches and Angels in America Part Two: Perestroika, NTL (2017) from Drama Online.
Tony Kushner's award winning play, in two parts, set in New York in the 1980s at the height of the AIDS crisis.  All star cast including Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, Denise Gough and Russell Tovey. 

And The Rest of Me Floats (2019) from Drama Online.
And The Rest Of Me Floats is all about the messy business of gender. Performers from across the trans, non-binary, and queer communities weave together autobiographical performance, movement, pop songs, stand-up and dress-up in this anarchic celebration of gender expression and identity.

Pieces of String (2018) from Digital Theatre+
Musical theatre production set in the 1940s, alongside the present day, exploring gay relationships during the Second World War. 
 

LGBTQIA+ Artists on Inclusivity in Musical Theatre (2020) Digital Theatre+
Part of a series exploring inclusivity and representation in American musical theatre. Tony Award-winning writer Lisa Kron (Fun Home) and actress Aneesh Sheth (Bombay Dreams) discuss their work championing queer stories, power structures within the industry, and how to create more inclusive spaces. 

Leigh Garrett
Head of Resources, Discovery and Liaison | Student Services

Hello everyone!  I suspect many of you will not have come across me before - essentially, I oversee and support the work of the library and learning teams.  I've been at the University for 17 years now and worked in higher education for 24 years.  I guess I must like it?!  

I am lucky to work with great teams and colleagues - who deliver your library collections, including archives, special collections, books, games and DVDs and lots of online resources - databases, electronic books, journals, films newspapers and magazines.  We also support students with research skills, referencing and a wide range of academic skills.  All our work is to help you make the most out of your time at University - so make sure you use your library, it's resources and services - you'll find everything you need, including contact details here on myLibrary.

If you have any questions or comments about the library service - things we could do better please do get in touch and we can explore...