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LGBTQ History in Government Documents: Home

Source: Share America

About this guide...

This guide was created to supplement a presentation given at the 2016 Federal Depository Library Conference. That presentation, "We’re Here, We’re Queer, and We’re in the Public Record: Federal Government Documents on the LGBT Movement," highlighted a number of primary sources documenting the U.S. federal government's stance on issues related to the LGBT movement from the 1800s to the present day. These documents illustrate that our government's policies toward LGBT people have evolved greatly over the years and continue to change - though not always for the better.

This guide lists documents discussed in the presentation, including links to those that are freely available online. The authors envision this as a living guide and intend to update it as new relevant resources become available.

For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact:

  • Jesse Silva, Scholarly Resources Strategy and Federal Government Information Librarian, University of California, Berkeley
  • Kelly L. Smith, Government Information Librarian and Librarian for Urban Studies & Planning and Environmental Studies & Policy, University of California, San Diego

 

Related Presentations

Jesse was a lead curator for the "We're Here, We're Queer" exhibit at the UC Berkeley Library, which ran from March-September 2018. A companion website is available.


Jesse and Kelly did an updated presentation as a webinar for the Federal Depository Library Program in June 2018. A recording with slide presentation is available.