It’s
not
everyday
that
one
of
Atlanta’s
largest
public
institutions
dedicates
a
space
dedicated
to
gay
and
lesbian
history,
but
that’s
exactly
what
happened
when
John
Szabo,
director
of
the
Atlanta-Fulton
County
Public
Library
system,
welcomed
“Out
at
the
Library”
to
the
system’s
largest
location.
The
national
gay
history
display
brought
an
invigorated
interest
in
archiving
local
gay
history,
a
part
of
Atlanta
that
should
not
be
forgotten,
Szabo
says.
“[The
public
library],
in
many
respects,
is
a
caretaker
of
community
history,”
Szabo
says.
“Atlanta
has
a
large
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual
and
transgender
community,
and
we
continue
to
serve
that
community’s
needs.
But
as
we
also
collect
and
archive
pieces
of
Atlanta
and
Fulton
County
history,
it’s
important
that
we
include
pieces
of
that
history.”
Szabo,
who
served
as
the
director
of
the
Clearwater,
Fla.,
public
libraries
for
six
years
prior
to
moving
to
Atlanta
in
April
2005,
says
the
city’s
public
library
system
further
opens
its
doors
to
the
acceptance
of
gay
memorabilia
by
changing
the
name
of
its
Central
Library
archives
from
“Georgia
Local
and
Family
History”
to
“Special
Collections.”
The
new
description
“allows
us
to
be
a
little
bit
broader
in
scope,”
Szabo
says.
“We’re
looking
for
materials
that
aren’t
so
easily
available
today,
things
collected
in
the
1930s,
‘40s
and
‘50s...
even
small
posters
or
brochures
that
promoted
certain
causes
or
advertised
particular
organizations”
he
says.
Szabo,
who
is
gay,
adds
that
special
efforts
to
archive
black
gay
history
are
in
the
works
at
the
Auburn
Avenue
Research
Center
with
cooperation
from
Zami,
an
Atlanta
organization
for
lesbians
of
color.
Representatives
from
Zami
did
not
return
calls
for
comment.
Szabo
says
gay-specific
archives
remind
gay
and
straight
Atlantans
that
gay
men
and
lesbians
are
and
continue
to
be
part
of
the
community’s
collective
history.
“In
the
last
10
years
with
the
explosion
of
the
gay
and
lesbian
experience
in
the
media,
the
tremendous
amount
of
coverage
causes
a
lot
of
people
to
only
think
about
gays
and
lesbians
being
something
of
recent
history,”
he
says.
“I
think
it’s
good
to
remind
people
that
gays
and
lesbians
have
always
been
around.”
Evidence
of
gay
men
and
lesbians
in
history
is
perhaps
most
apparent
in
literature,
where
names
like
Walt
Whitman,
Oscar
Wilde
and
Tennessee
Williams
join
other
celebrated
authors,
regardless
of
their
sexual
orientation.
Rick
Hudson,
a
book
collector
and
Atlanta
physician,
says
he
hopes
his
expansive
book
collection,
which
includes
first
editions
and
autographed
books
by
some
of
the
world’s
most
prolific
gay
authors,
will
serve
as
a
steppingstone
toward
a
brighter
future
for
archiving
gay
history.
Some
1,500
rare
books
and
other
pieces
of
gay
ephemera,
like
papers
from
the
1950s
gay
rights
group
the
Mattachine
society,
comprise
Hudson’s
collection,
which
he
says
could
be
worth
about
$250,000.
“I
think
of
it
as
a
starting
point
because
there’s
so
much
more
that
needs
to
be
done,”
he
says
of
his
collection.
“It
could
be
the
largest
gay
and
lesbian
archive
ever
in
the
nation.
That’s
what
I
would
like.”
Hudson’s
collection
dates
back
to
1860,
when
Walt
Whitman
published
his
second
edition
of
“Leaves
of
Grass.”
First
editions
are
usually
considered
the
most
valuable,
but
for
a
gay
book
collector,
Whitman’s
“Leaves”
in
second
edition
is
even
better,
as
it
contains
both
the
gay-themed
Calamus
poems
and
Whitman’s
signature.
Hudson
selected
15
to
20
of
his
most
prized
books
for
display
in
conjunction
with
Touching
Up
Our
Roots,
an
Atlanta
gay
history
organization,
and
“Out
at
the
Library”
at
the
Central
Library
in
Downtown
Atlanta.
The
collection,
is
scheduled
to
open
Aug.
29
with
a
reception
featuring
local
gay
writers.
“[History]
should
inspire,”
says
Dave
Hayward,
coordinator
of
Touching
up
Our
Roots.
“It
gives
you
a
sense
of
strength,
and
identity
to
keep
on
going.
We
don’t
have
full
equity,
we’re
still
a
long
way
from
that,
but
this
could
be
an
inspiration
to
appreciate
what
we’ve
done
and
use
it
to
keep
going.”
Berl
Boykin,
a
local
author
expected
to
attend
the
exhibit
event,
says
Hudson’s
display
collection,
which
features
works
by
Truman
Capote,
Gore
Vidal
and
others,
will
hopefully
serve
as
“a
magnet.”
“It
should
draw
other
books,
other
records
out
of
the
closet,
literally,
physically
and
metaphorically,”
Boykin
says.
“These
are
the
rock
stars
of
the
collection.”
Hudson
says
the
books
reflect
the
individual
tastes
of
gay
authors,
but
also
the
times
in
which
they
were
written.
His
earliest
books,
for
instance,
feature
gay
characters
who
suffer
tragic
circumstances
and
sometimes
commit
suicide
due
to
internalized
homophobia.
Later
books
show
strong
characters,
reflecting
changes
in
the
public’s
...
