Lesbian Librarians in Books

Lesbrarian mug by librariangear
on Zazzle

If you're looking for a book with a lesbian librarian in it, you're in luck! There's a fairly varied selection to choose from (although it's a pretty short list). From romance to mystery, the following fiction books all feature a lesbian librarian main character. There's also a interesting selection of nonfiction and memoir books looking at lesbians in librarianship at the end.

As a side note - it's a difficult subject to search for, because there are so many books and articles out there that look at providing LGBT literature in libraries. The actual librarians are often somewhat ignored!

Fiction: Lesbian Librarians


A Pirate's Heart by Catherine Friend

Rare books librarian Emma Boyd is searching for the treasure map of 18th century pirate Thomasina Farris, in a dual narrative story of theft, piracy, treasure, books and lesbians. (There's more lesbian pirate fiction here)

 
Black Marks by Kirsten Dinnall Hoyte

A confusing and fascinating story of not fitting in and memory loss. Georgette is an African-American librarian, torn between cultures and identities, suffering from fragmentary memories.

Bourn's Edge by Barbara Davies - a librarian flees to Wales and meets an exiled Fae, disguised as a local artist. Cue magical showdowns and love.

Jericho by Ann McMan [Read the review]

A fantastic love story between a librarian and a physician, this is 400 pages of love and friendship and good writing.

Gold Fever by Lyn Denison

Set in Australia, this is a sweet and fairly straightfoward love story. Kate Bannister returns to her hometown to rebuild her life and work as the city librarian there - when she discovers that her childhood best friend and first love is coming back to visit.

Land of A Thousand Dances by Evelyn Applegate

A shy librarian meets a mysterious stranger who takes over her life, in a good way.

One Degree of Separation by Karin Kallmaker

A romantic comedy set in Iowa, it follows the sparks that fly between the local Reference Librarian and the irritiating out-of-towner who comes to visit.

Past Remembering by Lyn Denison

Asha West is a librarian and a genealogist. Returning to Brisbane, she gets caught up in three generations of lesbians in the process of researching a local family's history, and falls in love herself along the way.

Vera's Still Point by Ruth Perkinson
Republican conservative Vera plods through her life in rural Virginia in a rut and in denial - until an out and proud ex-Navy pilot arrives on campus and opens up her heart. It's not a straightforward romance, though, as it also becomes a story of cancer, loss and survival.



Nonfiction: Lesbianism and Librarianship

Daring to Find Our Names: The Search for Lesbigay Library History 
Edited by James V. Carmichael , Published in 1998, based on the papers from the 1995 ALA Annual Conference
A collection of essays that look at the history of LGB librarianship, including coming out, stereotyping and discrimination.


Liberating Minds: The Stories and Professional Lives of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Librarians and Their Advocates 
Edited by Norman G. Kester, Published in 1997

A collection of stories and discussions from librarians, about their personal experiences and their perspectives of issues to do with queerness in libraries, from censorship, to materials, to homophobia.

Out Behind the Desk: Workplace Issues for LGBTQ Librarians (Gender and Sexuality in Librarianship)
Edited by Tracy Nectoux, Published in 2011
An anthology of accounts from various LGBTQ librarians about being out and coming out at work.

Sex Variant Woman: The Life of Jeanette Howard Foster 
By Joanne Passet, Published in 2008
A look at Jeannette Howard Foster, the first librarian at the Kinsey Institute and the writer of the ground breaking Sex Variant Women in Literature.




She Was a Booklegger: Remembering Celeste West 
Eedited by Toni Samek, K.R. Roberto & Moyra Lang, Published in 2010
A collection of stories and memories about the pioneering lesbian feminist librarian Celeste West. She worked in San Francisco and passed away in 2006.




Lesbian Librarians in Comics

• Tai, a supporting character in the webcomic Questionable Content. She has a crush on the main character's bisexual girlfriend, tattoos, and is the main character's nominal boss. She's in charge of the college library that he works at, and it looks more and more like she might actually pair up with Dora (spoiler: she does)

• Agent Street by L. Hope in OH #7 (May 1994), pgs. 39-52 - Reprinted in Alternative Library Literature, 1994/1995: A Biennial Anthology edited by Sanford Berman and James P. Dansky. Featuring Emerald Street, a lesbian librarian, as the subject of a crush by an anarchist.

• "Doomed Marriage" by Charles Burns, in Skin Deep: Tales of Doomed Romance. A creepy collection of comic stories, including a wife who falls in love with a librarian and ends up with her.

You may also be interested in:

• The Themed Book Lists page.
• The List of Book Reviews