Table of Contents

This document covers the following sections:

About LIAL
Library’s Mission
Collection Scope
Collection Priorities
Statement on OwnVoices
Funding & Acquisitions
Weeding
Sensitive Materials

About LIAL

The LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library is based in Iowa City, IA and was founded in 2020 as a project to collect, preserve, and share LGBTQ+ history throughout the state of Iowa. For decades, the LGBTQ history of Iowa and its neighboring states have been overshadowed by the history of LGBTQ+ life in urban centers across the U.S. such as San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. 

At the very core of our mission is a deep understanding that LGBTQ people have always lived, struggled, and thrived in Iowa. Our experiences as small-town, rural, and Midwestern LGBTQ people are crucial to the history of our community across the U.S. To accomplish our goals of collecting, preserving, and sharing LGBTQ+ history in and about Iowa we have three principal functions. 

The first is a lending library to share the breadth and diversity of LGBTQ writers and stories for our community to enjoy and learn from. With books for audiences of all ages, the lending library is a critical community resource that prioritizes LGBTQ authors and texts. 

The second function is to build an archives that captures the robust material traces of LGBTQ life in Iowa, available to community members and scholars for browsing and research. 

The third is to serve as an oral history resource center as we share the tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to actively capture LGBTQ history in our state through recorded interviews.

Library’s Mission

The library’s goal is to provide users of all backgrounds, ages, and ability levels with access to materials that support their information, education, culture, and leisure needs. LIAL’s lending library collection prioritizes works by, for, and about LGBTQ people and subjects. It aims to reflect the diverse and often underrepresented voices and lives in our community.

Collection Scope

LIAL’s library collections focus on narratives that reflect, embolden, support, and make visible LGBTQ+ Iowan histories, lives, and joy. Our 2,000 diverse books make up the following collections:

• Fiction
  • Contemporary Fiction
  • Lesbian Pulp Fiction
  • Science Fiction & Fantasy
• Graphic Novels
• Nonfiction
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Essays
  • History
• YA, Middle Grade, and Children’s

Nonfiction materials

LIAL’s nonfiction materials primarily pertain to LGBTQ+ life and history in Iowa and the larger Midwestern and/or rural United States. Materials should be dedicated to LGBTQ+ history and theory, parenting, and/or self-help. Nonfiction materials published in the twenty-first century are prioritized. 

Biographies and memoirs focus on LGBTQ+ Iowans or Midwesterners, or prominent members of the LGBTQ+ community (ex: Marsha P. Johnson, Harvey Milk). Essay collections primarily cover LGBTQ+ or adjacent topics, such as gender and sexuality studies or colonial studies.

Nonfiction materials for teens and children are cataloged within those collections and prioritize LGBTQ+ history and self-help. 

Fiction materials

Newer publications are prioritized, and main characters must be part of the LGBTQ+ community. Themes should center around LGBTQ+ resilience, resistance, and joy. Materials that commodify or sensationalize LGBTQ+ trauma are not accepted. Contemporary fiction materials cover both literary and genre fiction. 

LIAL’s Lesbain Pulp Fiction collection comprises sapphic genre fiction from independent publishers, many of which were printed by the Iowa City Women’s Press. 

YA, Middle Grade, and Children’s materials

YA materials are categorized as books published by publishing houses’ children’s/teen imprints and geared towards a demographic of 14-19. Middle grade books are likewise categorized as published by publishing houses’ children’s imprints, but aimed at young teens ages 10-13. Children’s covers picture books and board books. These same age ranges apply to independently published books. 

Nonfiction and graphic novels are included in these materials and are separated from the larger adult collections. Books that are discussed in YA circles on social media platforms but contain explicit sexual content (ex: no fade to black) will be collected as adult fiction materials, not YA.

Format

Print materials are of the most interest, especially hardcover books and trade issues of graphic novels. Scholarly research and reference materials, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and indexes from trade, small, and alternative presses are collected. Magazines, newspapers, films, DVDs, and music may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Priorities

LIAL’s collection must reflect the diverse needs and identities of its users, and prioritizing a diverse collection is paramount. LIAL recognizes that collections policies are not neutral and are susceptible to the same attitudes that have historically overlooked and relegated LGBT and other marginalized communities. We are invested in uplifting works by authors of underrepresented races, ethnicities, classes, immigration statuses, ability level, neurodivergence, and religions or that reflect intersectional identities and experiences.

Of particular interest, LIAL seeks to collect works in the following areas:

• Works in Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese)
• Nonfiction theory and/or history books authored by BIPOC LGBTQ+ community members and/or concerning BIPOC LGBTQ+ community, especially Black LGBTQ+ Iowans, Meskwaki Two-Spirit communities, and LGBTQ+ Iowan immigrant communities, 
• Nonfiction materials covering bisexuality, asexuality, aromanticism
• Contemporary LGBTQ+ middle grade fiction, particularly titles covering trans experiences
• Adult fiction materials that include BIPOC, Two-Spirit trans, sapphic, gender non-conforming, and aro/ace main characters and/or themes
• Science fiction and fantasy books—YA, middle grade, or adult—that push back on white, straight, cis, colonial, and/or imperial narratives inherent in traditional speculative fiction works
• Self-help books for trans youth

We are no longer collecting lesbian pulp fiction novels. 

In part, LIAL’s collection priorities are also informed by circulation data and are subject to reviews. All aspects of the policy’s scope will be considered and efforts made to collect in areas of greatest use. Additionally, some materials may not be heavily utilised but nonetheless offer considerable value and impact to the library. This is done on a discretionary basis.

Statement on OwnVoices

OwnVoices authors are preferred in relation to topics of nationality, race, and class, not to gender identity, sexuality, and/or romantic preference; LIAL does not support the questioning, or subsequent forced outing, of an author’s status as members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

Funding & Acquisitions

Acquisitions are supported through community donations of money to the acquisition fund or materials, with event or purchase specific institutional funds. The library may also supplement the acquisition fund through the sale of duplicate or deaccessioned materials, back to the community at a discounted price. LIAL reserves the right to reject any library donations that are not within the scope of this policy. Half of the purchased materials will be by authors of color. When purchasing materials, LIAL will also emphasize purchasing materials from small, local bookshops and stores owned by LGBTQ+ people and people of color. We encourage donors to also consider shopping from Prairie Lights, Soul Book Nook, Sidekick Coffee and Books, and the Haunted Bookshop. 

Weeding

Weeding takes a number of forms. These materials will be sold to fund acquisitions, donated to partner organizations, or recycled. This includes books donated to the library that are duplicates or not relevant to the collection and never cataloged. Some books will be removed through periodic weeding of the collection. These materials may be outdated or damaged beyond repair.   

Donation Policy

Donations are much appreciated and can be dropped off and/or sent to our library at the PS1 Close House in Iowa City. Due to space constraints and our own collection priorities, LIAL asks that all donors contact us at library@lgbtqarchives.org before donating materials. If donors do not contact LIAL or leave contact information, such as an email or phone number, then LIAL assumes the right to do as needed with the donated materials, including discarding and/or selling items. 

Sensitive Materials

LIAL recognizes that from time to time, the library may acquire materials within the scope of this policy that do not serve LIAL in its role as an inclusive space for all. These materials will still be made accessible to the public in service of its mission of advancing information. However, they will be cataloged internally and are only available upon request.

First written: 2022 January

Last revised: 2025 April