Basic Reference Volumes:

Allen, Jane, comp. Out on the Shelves: Lesbian Books into Libraries. Newcastle-under-Lyme, England: AAL Pub., 1989. British in scope, lists over 200 works of literature, biography, history, psychology, etc.

Clyde, Laurel A. Out of the Closet and into the Classroom: Homosexuality in Books for Young People. Port Melbourne, Australia: ALIA Press, 1992. Bibliography of homosexuality in English-language children's literature.

Contemporary Gay American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook, edited by Emmanuel Nelson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993. A selective guide to the genre. As the title implies, lesbian authors are not covered.

Dynes, Wayne R. Homosexuality: a Research Guide. New York: Garland Pub., 1987. This indispensable guide to gay and lesbian literature of international scope contains 4858 citations grouped under 24 main topics and 176 subtopics; numerous languages are represented. Excludes most works of fiction, poetry, and drama. Heavily annotated. Subject and personal name indexes.

Foster, Jeannette H. Sex Variant Women in Literature. Tallahassee, FL: Naiad Press, 1985. Pioneer bibliography, first published in 1956, now updated to 1984. Covers all western languages and analyzes poetry, drama, and fiction for lesbian references.

Gay and Lesbian Library Service, edited by Cal Gough and Ellen Greenblatt. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1990. A very useful guide to researching the field.

Grier, Barbara. The Lesbian in Literature. 3rd Edition. Tallahassee, FL: Naiad Press, 1981. 7000 titles, fiction and nonfiction, arranged alphabetically by author and coded to denote extent of lesbian interest.

Horner, Thomas Marland. Homosexuality and the Judeo-Christian Tradition: an Annotated Bibliography. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1981. Selective list of 459 English-language items excluding historical and primary sources. An appendix cites "Biblical References to Homosexuality" both definite and alleged. Subject and author indexes.

Maggiore, Dolores J. Lesbianism, an Annotated Bibliography and Guide to the Literature, 1976-1991. 2nd Edition. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1992. Over 500 annotated nonfiction works, grouped under five topics: individuals, minorities, families, oppression, and health. Author/title index and resource guide.

Parker, William. Homosexuality: a Selective Bibliography of Over 3000 Items. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1971. This and the following two supplements contain over 10,000 entries referring to sources in English (and those translated into English). Court cases, movies, television programs, etc. are also covered. Few annotations. Subject and author indexes in each volume.

Parker, William. Homosexuality Bibliography: Supplement, 1970-1975. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1977. See previous annotation.

Parker, William. Homosexuality Bibliography: Second Supplement, 1976-1982. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1985. See previous annotation.

Ridinger, Robert B. Marks, comp. The Homosexual and Society: an Annotated Bibliography. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. Arranged within seven categories ranging from adoption to police attitudes, the citations are mainly culled from The Advocate; other sources include The Ladder, The Mattachine Review, popular and legal periodicals, and monographs. Little AIDS material is included, and coverage basically ceases at the end of 1987. Heavily annotated. Subject index.

Weinberg, Martin S., ed. Homosexuality: an Annotated Bibliography, co-edited by Alan P. Bell. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. This extensively annotated bibliography of 1265 items published in English (including translations) between 1940-1968 excludes belles-lettres, popular press, and newspapers; material from gay and lesbian publications has been generally excluded. Emphasis is on sociology, psychology, and psychiatry. Author and subject indexes.

Young, Ian. The Male Homosexual in Literature: A Bibliography. 2nd ed. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1982. An alphabetical listing by author of over 4200 English- language works (including translations). Includes fiction, drama, poetry, and autobiography published through 1980. Title index and essays on gay literature.

Directories and Indexes:

Clardy, Andrea. Words to the Wise: a Writer's Guide to Feminist and Lesbian Periodicals and Publishers. 3rd Ed. Ithaca, NY: Firebrand Books, 1990. Annotated list of presses and periodicals; resource list.

International Association of Lesbian and Gay Archives and Libraries. Directory of the International Association of Lesbian and Gay Archives and Libraries, compiled by Alan V. Miller. Toronto: Canadian Gay Archives, 1987. Basically a proper name index; short on topical entries. Still of value but in need of updating.

Malinowsky, H. Robert, comp. International Directory of Gay and Lesbian Periodicals. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1987. A directory of more than 1,900 titles. Contains subject/ geographic and publisher/ editor indexes. Out-of-date but still useful retrospectively.

Miller, Alan V., comp. Our Own Voices: A Directory of Lesbian and Gay Periodicals, 1890-1990: Including the Complete Holdings of the Canadian Gay Archives. Toronto: Gay Canadian Archives, 1991. Major source to more than 7,200 gay and lesbian titles published worldwide, including titles of interest to bisexuals, transvestites, transsexuals, and the AIDS community. Sections devoted to guides, directories, and catalogs. The index contains a chronological list of magazines appearing from 1894-1969.

Potter, Clare, ed. Lesbian Periodicals Index. Tallahassee, FL: Naiad Press, 1986. Author and subject index to forty-two U.S. lesbian periodicals from 1947-1985.

Ridinger, Robert B., comp. An Index to The Advocate: The National Gay Newsmagazine, 1967-1982. Los Angeles: Liberation Publications, 1987.

Sherrill, Jan-Mitchell. The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Students' Guide to Colleges, Universities, and Graduate Schools. New York: New York University Press, 1994. Evaluates 189 institutions nationwide from the viewpoint of lesbian, gay, and bisexual students.


For more information, please see the New York Public Library's Guide to Gay and Lesbian Studies