Pride Month Display

By: Michelle Ogden

The Crawfordsville District Public Library launched its Summer Reading Program on May 30.  This year’s theme, All Together Now, focuses on kindness, friendship, and unity in our community. As a way to celebrate, a Pride Month display is available on the second floor of the library in the adult non-fiction section.

Learn about the beginnings of the LGBTQ equality movement with books like The Stonewall Reader (306.76 Sto), edited by The New York Public Library, or The Stonewall Generation (306.76 Sto) edited by Jane Fleishman. Both anthologies include essays and interviews from people who were living during the turbulent time of social change, fighting for their right to be heard and have the freedom to be who they inherently are.

To broaden your perspective of other people’s life experiences, grab a biography and learn about someone’s personal story. We Are Not Broken (306.76 Joh), a memoir by George M. Johnson, talks about growing up Black and non-binary and being raised by his devoted grandmother along with three brothers in New York City. Read a book of essays by former Purdue Professor and now visiting professor at Yale, Roxane Gay. Bad Feminist (814.6 Gay) and Difficult Women (FIC Gay) are highly recommended titles.

The display also features movies and fictional works about, and by, members of the LGBTQIA+ community.  Whether you like mysteries, historical fiction, or romance, there are books for everyone. One Last Stop (FIC McQui), a romance from Casey McQuiston, has a unique meet-cute on the subway in NYC. We also offer classics like Brideshead Revisited (FIC Wau) by Evelyn Waugh. Or consider grabbing a mystery from Rita Mae Brown.  The display showcases highly-rated new-release DVDs. One example is Spoiler Alert (DVD FIC Spo) starring Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory and based on Michael Ausiello’s best-selling memoir Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies. You may also check out Are You Proud (DVD 306.7609 Are), a documentary on the history of LGBT rights.

One of the fastest-growing publishing areas is graphic novels. Some new series to read included in our display are Sasaki and Miyano (GN FIC Har) by Sho Harusono and Blue Flag (GN FIC Kai) by Kaito — two Japanese manga series filled with friendship, romance, and drama. If non-fiction graphic novels are more interesting to you, try Fun Home: a family tragicomic (GN 921 Bechdel, A.), by Alison Bechdel. On a curiosity note, The Bechdel Test for Women in Movies is named after this author. It is a simple test to evaluate female interaction in movies according to the following criteria: (1) it has to have at least two women in it, who (2) talk to each other, about (3) something besides a man. Some movies that have passed the test include Ant-Man and the Wasp (2023), Jurassic World Dominion (2022), both iterations of Frozen (2013 and 2019), and Cinderella (1950).

In addition to resources and materials at the library, the Crawfordsville community has a group that offers assistance and embodies the summer reading theme of unity. Humans United for Equality, HUE, is a local group whose aim is to create “a place for individuals who believe that diversity and equality make our community stronger and our lives richer. [They] strive to promote unity, love, understanding, tolerance, and acceptance. ” HUE began in 2016 by Deborah Kochert and friends. They focus on connecting the people of our community with the resources they need to thrive and succeed. You can check out their website for more information and to inquire about volunteering: https://www.huemoco.org/

Stop by the library to take a look at our Pride Month display and peruse all our offerings as we seek to grow in kindness, respect, and understanding – All Together Now. The Crawfordsville District Public Library is open; Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM-9:00 PM; Friday and Saturday 9:00-5:00 PM; and Sunday, 1:00-5:00 PM. You can also use your library card to find more items for checkout on the Libby and Hoopla apps 24/7.

-Michelle Ogden is an avid knitter and a Library Assistant in the Reference & Local History Department at CDPL.