http://www.ala.org/ala/mg…rs/summer09.pdf
Baim, Tracy, ed. Chicago: Agate Publishing, 2008. hardcover. 224p. $30.00. ISBN: 9781572841000.
Tracy Baim‘s Out and Proud in Chicago is the companion book to the local PBS documentary of the same name and the accompanying web site. This resource is comprised of historical photographs and short articles written by 35 different authors about Chicago’s GLBT community from the 1800s to the present.
The articles, drawn from the city’s many archives and publications (and supplemented by interviews conducted by the editor), provide an overview of the people, places, organizations, and events that are or have been important to the GLBT community in Chicago. Six time periods, each with an associated theme (e.g. 1950s–1960s: The Seeds of Change; 1980s: Silence = Death), are used as a way to structure the flow of material. Additionally, all of the visual materials in the book carry descriptive captions, thus integrating the visuals into the text as historically important artifacts.
Baim includes a bibliography of many of the resources consulted. The book lacks an index, however, which would have been helpful for readers interested in searching for information on specific individuals, events, or locations.
Out and Proud in Chicago is recommended for both local and statewide institutions that have LGBT collections, but also for any institutions that contain regionally-focused LGBT collections and materials.
Reviewed by TJ Lusher
Northern Illinois University
