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Transgender Library Breaks Isolation |
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By Sarah Blount/The Portland Observer Offers education, support and a good read Until a literary movement about ten years ago, a person could walk into a library with thousands of books, and feel alone in the absence of transgender-specific titles. Outside In, a social service agency for mostly low-income, homeless and sexual minority youth, continually works to decrease that type of isolation, with a growing transgender health program, and now a reference library containing over 400 resources. Ask three people what transgender means, and you're likely to get six answers. For the sake of this article, the term can imply several components including gender, gender identity and sexual orientation. Zarod Rominski, Outside In's associate executive director, hired Llewyn McCobb specifically to expand the clinic's sexual minority program, first established in the early 1990s. The Trans/Identity Resource Center was a response to the growing need for trans health programs as this particular population flourished. Originally the center was a walk-in service, but as word spread, services were expanded and the online health directory resourcespdx.org was created. Outside In fashioned its programs from experience, not statistics. An official number for Portland's trans population isn't available; because as McCobb puts it, people aren't willing to share private information with someone they don't feel is their ally. McCobb said it was a dream to create a library for the many books that are now available on the subject. Help for the project came from PSU Reference Librarian Rose Jackson who approached Outside In with a $9,600 grant, funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. A board of librarians, community activists, Outside In staff and PSU researchers was formed to oversee the library. The collection includes books and videos of fiction, biographies and autobiographies, and other books and transgender resources touching on spirituality, youth, medical issues, legal issues and psychology. On-line resources are also available. The collection ranges from erotic to esoteric, and even McCobb felt overwhelmed with the wealth of information. "In my own transgender journey there were about 15 books out there, and eight of them were pretty offensive," McCobb said. "It's been very powerful to watch this library grow." You won't find a more exhaustive collection outside of Portland, with San Francisco housing the nearest similar resource. The collection has already proved to be worth the cost - its official opening was last month, but employees have benefited during it development. "It's raised the bar of gender sensitivity in the entire agency," McCobb said. |
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