UTL Pride Staff Showcase

This Pride Month we’re spotlighting UTL staff and librarians who help support 2SLGBTQIA+ initiatives, programming, and collections at U of T Libraries and beyond. 

Jesse Carliner, User Services Librarian, SDS Liaison Librarian. Pronouns he/him. 

Let us introduce you to Jesse Carliner, User Services Librarian, and  Liaison Librarian to the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, and selector for SDS Collections at Robarts Library and Central U of T Libraries. Jesse is also a member of the International Federation of Library Associations’s LGBT user group, which comes together to advocate and help libraries around the world develop inclusive services and defend themselves against backlash around LGBT content in their libraries, collections, programming, and services.

Jesse’s work helps support the SDS research community, as well as outreach, programming, and initiatives for the broader 2SLGBTQIA+ community at UofT. Along with UofT colleagues, Jesse started the Queer Study Buddy Sessions, which provides an opportunity for students to meet, network, and creates a safe space in Robarts to get work done. 

For Pride Month 2024, Jesse wants to bring the following UTL resources to your attention:

1. Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture Since 1940, which Jesse describes as an “incredible resource for the study of the history of sex, sexuality and gender, beginning in the 16th century.”
2. Lesbian Masquerade: The Freedoms Gained from Lesbian Cross-Dressing, which Jesse cites as a “great window into history, with incredible primary sources that have been curated for you to explore.”
3. UTL’s Sexual Diversity Studies Research Guides.

Rachel Beattie, Assistant Media Archivist at the Media Commons Archives. Pronouns she/her. 

Meet Rachel Beattie, Assistant Media Archivist at the Media Commons Archives, located on the third floor of Robarts Library. Rachel primarily deals with the processing of new collections, provides access to researchers and filmmakers, and works with donors in acquiring their materials. Within the Media Commons Archives, Rachel cites the importance of working with 2SLGBTQ+ donors and ensuring the safety and value of their materials within an institutional setting.

Feeling like she needed an outlet for her identity outside of work, Rachel also began volunteering with The ArQuives, the world’s largest independently owned 2SLGBTQ+ archive. Rachel resides on the ArQuives’ Community Engagement Committee, organizing tours of the archive and greater Toronto queer community. Along with Jesse Carliner, Ben Walsh, and Sara McDowell, Rachel began an informal queer film screening series at UofT, as well as launched an escape game for Queer Orientation to provide incoming students information on 2SLGBTQ+ resources on campus. She also facilitated a partnership between UofT and The ArQuives to provide a walking tour of campus to showcase queer UofT history.

For Pride Month 2024, Rachel wants to bring the following Media Commons Archives fonds to your attention:

1. The Mario Prizek Fonds, showcasing the life and career of iconic CBC Producer and Filmmaker.
2. The Lorraine Segato Fonds, housing materials of Hamilton-born musician, songwriter, filmmaker, event producer and social justice activist.
3. The Midi Onodera Fonds, honoring the Japanese-Canadian filmmaker.
    

David Fernandez, Librarian and Head of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. Pronouns he/him. 

Finally, we’re introducing you to David Fernandez, Librarian and Head of Rare Books and Special Collections at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. Since starting in 2013, David has been responsible for working with and developing special collections surrounding 2SLGBTQ+ cultures and histories, and has aided in serving the student population by bringing in new materials to match their research, learning, and creative needs.

Over the last 12 years, David has taught and facilitated courses, workshops, and presentations for a variety of faculties, including Sexual Diversity Studies. Courses and workshops have included teaching undergraduate students about queer history in Toronto (Sex in the City), queer pulp novels and their place in 2SLGBTQ+ history, and the history of same-sex love in Latin America. David also works closely with faculty to implement assignments that require work with 2SLGBTQ+ materials housed at the Fisher.

For Pride Month 2024, David wants to bring the following Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library collections to your attention:

1.    Gay and Lesbian Periodicals.
2.    Gay Pulp Fiction Collection.
3.    Canadian Queer Literature.