For Immediate Release
May 28, 2010
Contact: Rubina Isaac
CHICAGO - The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table of the American Library Association announces the establishment of the Over the Rainbow Committee. The committee is charged with creating an annual bibliography of titles of interest to adult readers that reflect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) experiences. The first ALA Over the Rainbow Books list will be announced in January 2011.
The committee is currently seeking titles for the 2010 list. Titles considered for inclusion must
* have been published between July 2009 and December 2010;
* be suitable for adult readers;
* show a positive view toward the LGBTQ community through the events and people in the book, whether fiction or nonfiction;
* provide significant LGBTQ content, although the primary focus of the book need not be LGBTQ;
* be of sufficiently high quality that the Over the Rainbow Committee can endorse.
The ALA Over the Rainbow lists will provide communities with guidance in selecting commendable books that reflect LGBTQ experiences. Many LGBTQ titles remain hidden from readers because they are not identified by subject headings and/or the LGBTQ content is excluded from publisher information. This annual annotated bibliography of commendable books developed by library professionals will help librarians, bookstore managers and readers identify LGBTQ books worthy of a wide audience.
The project will continue on an annual basis, with each list compiling books published during that calendar year and the last six months of the previous year. For more information, please visit: http://alaovertherainbow.wordpress.com
Members of the Over the Rainbow Committee are Arla Jones (chair), Jane Cothron, Cecil Hixon, Brent Husher, Jesse Nachem, Danielle Pollock, Larry Romans and Nel Ward.
For further information please contact Peter Hepburn, chair, GLBTRT External Relations Committee at phepburn@uic.edu or Arla Jones, chair, Over the Rainbow Committee at ArlaJones@gmail.com
View an expanded version of this news release on the American Libraries site.
