The New York Public Library

Ashowcase of the work of activists and participants in the Stonewall uprising, published to coincide with the 50th anniversary.

With his discerning selections, editor Baumann (editor: Love and Resistance: Out of the Closet into the Stonewall Era, 2019, etc.)—assistant director for collection development for the New York Public Library and coordinator of the library’s LGBT Initiative—provides a street-level view of the Stonewall uprising, which helped launch the LGBTQ rights movement in the United States. Through his skillful curation, he offers a corrective for what is too often a sanitized, homogenous, and whitewashed portrayal of academics and professionals about the event sometimes termed “the hairpin drop heard around the world.” By gathering vibrant and varied experiences of diverse contributors, the collection reflects the economic, gender, racial, and ethnic complexity of the LGBTQ community at a time when behaviors such as same-sex dancing were criminalized. Featuring essays, interviews, personal accounts, and news articles, Baumann’s archival project accurately and meticulously captures an era of social unrest; the conversation about institutional discrimination and inequality presented here remains as revolutionary today as it did 50 years ago. The anthology invites us to look closely at the unresolved social dynamics of a population defined by its diversity, confronting sexism, racism, classism, and internalized homophobia alongside a broad view of institutional discrimination, heteronormativity, and sexual repression. Voices of significant leaders sit beside stories from participants behind protest lines, police raids, and street harassment, and the mounting frustration with an oppressive status quo becomes palpable on every page. The first-person narratives collected here effectively spotlight the social inequalities surrounding the LGBTQ community, many of which persist today.

A bold rallying cry that should help in the continuing fight for LGBTQ rights. Read alongside Baumann’s Love and Resistance and Marc Stein’s The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History for a full education on the events before, during, and after Stonewall.

-Kirkus Review… (mehr)

A charming question and answer compilation from the files of the New York Public Library.

Like most public libraries, the NYPL has been helping patrons, answering questions and researching problems since their opening. In this quirky compilation they opened up their archives and contemplate, research and respond to dozens of weird and wonderful questions that have been asked over the years. Barry Blitt adds further colour with some gorgeous and cheeky illustrations of the questions.

I really enjoyed the selection of questions and answers provided. Some had me nodding along, others had me scratching my head and many had me googling the suggested books. The illustrations were amusing as well.

My favourite questions and answers were;

Is it possible to keep an octopus in a private home?
Is is proper to go alone to Reno to get a divorce?
What is the social significance of a person playing blind man's bluff?
I received a letter from a friend in the South Seas who says he is in a country where monkeys have no tails. Where is he?
What kind of apple did Eve eat?
Has a cow upper teeth?
Is there a list of museums that might be interested in buying a shrunken head that has been in my family for years?
Where can I rent a guillotine?

An enjoyable meandering read through a variety of topics that fill the library shelves. 4 stars.… (mehr)