by J. DePaolis

Staff Writer

Chicago is a city rich in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender history. With that history comes responsibility, and with the help of the Chicago Public Library, some gay rights activists are setting out to help preserve that vast history.

The Chicago Public Library, 400 S. State St., celebrated the diverse LGBT community when they hosted a book launching on Oct. 1, for Out and Proud in Chicago, a book edited by Windy City Times editor Tracy Baim. The book features photographs detailing gay history in the city from the 1950s to the 2000s. A panel discussion on the book was held in the Harold Washington Library.

As the library celebrates its annual book festival, highlighting library functions around the city in and out of bookstores, Chicago also celebrates Gay History Month.

“It’s really a chance to get to see Chicago’s role in the literary process,” said Ruth Lednicer, Chicago Public Library director of marketing and press.

Chicago has played a large role in shaping the history of the gay movement, hosting the Gay Games in 2006 and founding the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1991, Lednicer said.

Lednicer called Out and Proud in Chicago a groundbreaking book, and said the event serves as not only the start of the book festival, but also as a formal premiere of the book.

“The city has an organization and history of programs like these,” Lednicer said. “This is a book the library really wanted to offer a chance [for Chicagoans] to learn more about.”

The panel was filled with co-editors of the book, Baim and William Kelley, as well as writers Marie J. Kuda and Jorjet Harper; and gay activist Chuck Renslow.

“I thought the library would be a great place to have an actual panel with some of the writers and actual subjects of the book,” Baim said.

The project started as a film, but because of the large number of interviews-more than 260 last summer-Baim and her team decided to put all of their work into a website. A film did eventually get made and a publishing company, Surrey Books, approached Baim to edit a companion book to the film. The book came together in the span of six weeks this past summer.

Baim said she believes too many great influences of the gay community are forgotten with time.

Baim spoke at Loyola University a few weeks before and had mentioned Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was murdered in 1998 for being gay. The 10th anniversary of Shepard’s murder was Oct. 12. Baim was surprised to hear how few people knew his story.

“That was just 10 years ago,” Baim said. “I want to make sure that a lot of the people [who] I have admired and [who] are my heroes in the community aren’t forgotten.”

She said she set out to compile the history and the stories of as many willing participants as she could, with all of the interviews and stories included in the book, which is available online at ChicagoGayHistory.org.

“People [aren’t] aware of where to look,” Baim said. “I’m just trying to make sure that [gay] history lives beyond newsprint.”

The library likes to take interest in local authors and help launch their work to the public, said Craig Davis, the director of adult services at the library. Out and Proud in Chicago is high profile in the LGBT community, and Davis said he hopes the library can show people something unexpected.

“We hope [people] can take something away from our events, feeling enriched,” Davis said.

The Chicago Book Festival is in its ninth year, and the panel discussion serves as the inaugural event for the month-

long program.

The library will also host other critically acclaimed authors throughout October, including Gregg Shapiro on Oct. 19, David Macauley on Oct. 22 and Sarah Vowell on Oct. 23.

Later this month, the library will also honor Tom Wolfe, author of The Right Stuff, with the Carl Sandberg Literary Award for 2008. The Right Stuff was chosen by the library for the Fall 2008 “One City, One Book” citywide book club selection. The event will take place on Oct. 16.

While it is free of charge to attend any of the book festival programs, donations can still be made. The donations will help buy special collection sets of literature for city libraries and also help fund foundations and programs the library runs, Lednicer said.

For more information on literary events in the Chicago area this month, visit

ChicagoPublicLibrary.com.