The LGBTQ Iowa Archives & Library (LIAL) is a community space committed to equity, social justice, and collective liberation. We recognize the power of sharing resources and knowledge as key tools to our collective wellbeing. We believe we must take an intersectional approach to our work to best serve our community and honor the lived experiences of LGBTQ Iowans at all intersections: race, ethnicity, immigration status, ability, neurodivergence, class, and religion.
Queer spaces, especially in Iowa, have historically been white and gay/lesbian centric. This historical legacy demands a critical approach to the structure and mission of LIAL to ensure we do not reproduce exclusionary patterns. We are proud to be predominantly trans and non-binary founded and run, but this does not absolve us of continuing to unlearn white supremacy. We are focused on prioritizing anti-racist approaches to our work.
LIAL is located in Iowa City, Iowa on the homelands of the Ojibwe/Anishinaabe (Chippewa), Báxoǰe (Iowa), Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Omāēqnomenēwak (Menominee), Myaamiaki (Miami), Nutachi (Missouri), Umoⁿhoⁿ (Omaha), Wahzhazhe (Osage), Jiwere (Otoe), Odawaa (Ottawa), Póⁿka (Ponca), Bodéwadmi/Neshnabé (Potawatomi), Meskwaki/Nemahahaki/Sakiwaki (Sac and Fox), Dakota/Lakota/Nakoda (Sioux), Sahnish/Nuxbaaga/Nuweta (Three Affiliated Tribes) and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Nations. The following tribal nations still live and flourish in the state of Iowa with the Meskwaki (Sac and Fox of the Mississippi in Iowa), Umoⁿhoⁿ (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and Iowa), Póⁿka (Ponca Tribe of Nebraska), and Ho-Chunk (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska). We recognize that our being here is a product of the unlawful and immoral colonization/theft of the land from these people.
LIAL stands in solidarity with Indigenous people and nations. Understanding indigenous approaches to gender and sexuality affords us a lens to acknowledge the ways that binary gender and heterosexuality are socially constructed and rooted in a settler colonial paradigm. The legacy of Indigenous nations who honor sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in their cultural traditions is important to our work.
To combat all forms of oppression that stem from settler colonialism, white supremacy, and anti-Black racism, LIAL is committed to centering and uplifting Black, Indigenous, Queer, and Trans People of Color (BIQTPOC) in our library and archival collections, our programs, and in our organization broadly. To make our work towards racial equity, inclusion, and liberation actionable and visible, we commit ourselves to the following as an organization:
Commitments
- LIAL is a freely available lending library and will never have late fines or penalties
- LIAL is a community space for anyone who needs our kinship, time, or resources
- LIAL is a sex-positive and body-positive space and resources that affirm the entire spectrum of sexuality without stigma or exclusion of asexuality
Existing Actions
- 50% of our book buying budget is devoted to purchasing books authored by BIQTPOC
- Making available intersectional and representative books for all ages, prioritizing K-12 reading needs
- Being informed by the community of what type of materials are wanted/available in the library through our book recommendation form
- Housing our sibling library, the Iowa City Radical Library, to ensure our community has access to radical literature that is not explicitly queer, but necessary for our collective knowledge building and liberation
- Offering all workshops and classes for free to BIQTPOC
- Prioritizing purchasing from independent, local Black, Brown, Indigenous and/or Queer and Trans owned and operated businesses in Iowa.
- Transparent, accessible, and inclusive collection development policies for our lending library and archives
Actionable Goals
- Critical cataloging updates to make ensure the books authored by BIQTPOC are readily transparent in our library’s holdings
- Adding audio books and more material in different languages to our library
- Developing a zine library, to make independent forms of sharing knowledge and publishing accessible to our patrons
- Training volunteer teams across Iowa in oral history and archival collection work to increase the diversity of our holdings
- Fostering relationships with Black, Brown, and Indigenous community organizations in Iowa
- Building a diverse and inclusive Board of Directors, representative of our full community throughout Iowa
