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Prepares for 30th Year 500 Members, 5,000 Visitors in 2002, a $95,000 Annual Budget Ft. Lauderdale's Stonewall Library and Archives is Celebrating!
And how is Stonewall doing at 30, I ask him? "Extremely well. Tremendously well. Excitingly well. We are making money and we are making our presence felt within the community. We have 500 members and we had 5,000 people walk through our doors last year. Last year we played host to over 75 artists, dignitaries and authors." For the first time in its history, SLA has a paid staff: Jonathan Heller, Archivist and Ted Golubski, Jr., Manager. "Our annual budget was $40,000 when I started 3 years ago, and now we are looking at $95,000." The Stonewall Library and Archives have come a long way since 1973, and I am proud to have been part of its history. The Library was born in 1973 as part of the Stonewall Committee of Hollywood, Florida, one of many short-lived groups that emerged after the Riots that gave the Committee and the Library their name. Though the Committee soon disbanded, the Library survived as a personal project of Mark Silber, a member of the Committee. In 1984, just before he left South Florida, Silber moved the Library to the Sunshine Cathedral MCC, then in its old location. A Stonewall Library Committee was formed to run the Library, and I served as its president from 1984 to 1987. Soon after that Joel Starkey donated his Southern Gay Archives to Stonewall, which then (1990) became the Stonewall Library and Archives, Inc. (SLA).
Running this operation is a talented and dedicated Board of Directors. In addition to Rob Nathans, the 2003 Board consists of Dr. Jack Doren; Ted Emery and Bill Beaton, Development; Bob Ewart, Secretary/Tech; Paul Fasana, Chief Archivist; Dr. John C. Graves, Structure and Governance; Steve Kerr, Chief Librarian; Dr. George Kling, GLCC Representative; Jack Latona; Dr. Melodie Moorehead; Margo Poulson, GLCC Alliance; Mark Schwamberger; and Ted Verdone, Treasurer. There is also an honorary Board of Trustees, a corps of volunteers and two paid staff members. Nathans is justly proud of his board: "Jack [Latona] has always been a friend of the gay and lesbian community, then as a [Fort Lauderdale] City Commissioner and now as a member of my Board," he tells me. "Paul Fasana is a retired director of the New York Public Library System. We can't do any better. He's my Chief Archivist. He knows what he's doing and he is a fine man," he adds. The new board members "are ready to work with the organization and forge this one-time small library into a strong presence in the national archival scene, and take our place as a national repository, along with New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco." The Stonewall Library and Archives is the largest collection of GLBT books, periodicals and archival materials south of Washington, DC, and east of Houston, Texas. The Library has more than 10,000 books, and a large number of audio and video recordings. "We just completed a full cataloging, thanks to Steve Kerr, converting the entire Library to the Library of Congress classification," says Nathans. "You can even search online what our holdings are." Steve Kerr is the Chief Librarian: "I grew up in a small town in western Pennsylvania in the 1950's. I knew even before reached adolescence that I was different from my friends, but I had nowhere to turn to for information, except the negative stereotypes I heard raised about 'faggots' and 'queers' and I couldn't identify with those images. I remember what a revelation it was when I discovered a copy of Gore Vidal's ^City and the Pillar ~when I was in college. Although the book had a relatively negative view of the homosexual lifestyle, at least it allowed me a glimpse into another world and let me know that there were other people out there who were like me. The power of the written word truly can effect a life changing experience!" Stonewall, says Kerr, "provided me with a rewarding activity as a volunteer and a chance to provide productive assistance to an organization which is close to my heart since I am a professional librarian by training." As important as the Library is, Nathans thinks of it "as 'eye candy', because anyone knows what a Library is. But the Archives is what puts us on the map. The Archives are unique." Grants from the Gill Foundation, the Dade Human Rights Campaign, and the Florida Local Historical Records Program allowed Stonewall to purchase compact shelving to house the Archives and a donation from Dr. Graves funded the renovation of 800 square feet of space. SLA is the archive of record for local and national organizations and the repository for the personal papers of Richard Inman, Mark Silber, Joel Starkey and other activists.
Stonewall's Authors Series has showcased writers as diverse as James Earl Hardy and Frances Milstead (Divine's mom). Coming soon to the Series are "An Evening with Ann Bannon" (January 24th), "An Afternoon with David Nimmons" (February 1st) and "An Evening with Jay Quinn" (February 7th). Less famous folk get to share their writings in a series of Readings, most notably at two well-attended erotica readings. "We had writer workshops and the participants of the workshops asked for the opportunity to read their own works," says Nathans. Stonewall also cultivates the visual arts. Each month the Graves Reading Room exhibits the work of an Artist of the Month that SLA sponsors in conjunction with ArtsUnited. "The Stonewall Library and Archives and ArtsUnited have a wonderful relationship, especially because of their directors, Chuck Williams and Chris Yoculan. We have similar missions and they have taken the responsibility of changing the exhibits in our reading room wall. And they created the First Monday. Every first Monday is our Artist's Reception and the art is exhibited to honor the artist of the month. And there is such high quality art that is created by our local artists." This month's artist is the brilliant and controversial sculptor, Beto Alvarez. SLA is also about to launch a Video Oral History Project to document and preserve the lives of GLBT individuals. Rob Nathans attributes SLA's success to "a combination of facilities, volunteers, and marketing. We have a volunteer team of 50 volunteers running the operation," he tells me. "We are so fortunate to have a ready and willing and knowledgeable volunteer corps in our doorstep, as Fort Lauderdale becomes more and more a destination to live, and not just to visit." More importantly, Nathans adds, "the members have come out to support us. And that what's so rewarding." In this, its 30th anniversary year, the Stonewall Library and Archives hopes to increase its presence in the community. Fred Searcy, SLA's past president, sees Stonewall's "role as two-fold. First, to offer the GLBT community an organization that preserves and conserves the culture of a society that has for so long been beaten down and despaired. We tell the world we take care of our own, protect our own and hold our culture up to others so they can see it and understand it so the world will know that we were strong, and good, and forgiving, and tolerant when others were not," he says. "The second role is to provide a first-class, professionally run organization, accountable to the community and cognizant of our role in the community. When so many organizations have their trials and tribulations we still see our way clear to serve the GLBT community and we do it well, consistently, and with professionalism." "The Stonewall Library and Archives is a tangible reminder that gay and lesbian people constitute a real minority with a long and diverse history and culture," says Dr. Graves. "We have suffered persecution, but have often been able to convert this into creative works of lasting value for our society as a whole. This is tremendously important for those who think we are just a fringe element that can or should be suppressed, or for people coming out who feel isolated and alienated," he adds. SLA's "presence in Fort Lauderdale is proof that this is not a cultural wasteland. I know of no other library that can match us in the combination of (1) size of collections, (2) quality of facilities to preserve and display them, and (3) hours open to the public - and it is right in our town!" Steve Kerr, Chief Librarian, believes "the primary accomplishment of the SLA has been its role in preserving and providing access to materials which other libraries such as public or academic libraries have not provided in their collections, especially local materials. This is especially true of archival material such as papers, magazines and memorabilia which otherwise might become lost to history," he says. "Another contribution has been in providing a safe and accessible place where members of the community can visit and find material which not might be readily available in other libraries. A place where they can feel safe to simply browse or check out materials whether simply for recreational reading or to find out information about our past and history." "I am looking forward to this year as a year for the Library to solidify," says Rob Nathans. "We need to solidify our Strategic Plan. What kind of a Library do we want to be? How can we be the best service agency for our community? Not only that, but to continue our marketing, which has been extremely successful. To reach out to more students and faculty. Our plan is to invite other great archives to create a dialogue about our needs. There are not very many of us." The Stonewall Library and Archives, says Kerr, "have an obligation to ensure that no matter what may happen in the future, the generations that follow us will have access to the information collected by various authors over the years." The Stonewall Library and Archives will be holding its First Annual Garden Party on Sunday, March 9th, from 4 to 7 p.m. This will be fundraiser to honor SLA's business patrons and volunteer teams. It will also serve as the public unveiling of the 2002 Annual Report. Sponsors of the Garden Party are Whole Foods Market and American Express. Tickets to the Garden Party are $30 per person in recognition of Stonewall's 30 years. The Stonewall Library and Archives are located at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida, 1717 North Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311-4813. SLA's phone number is (954) 763-8565 and its Web site is www.stonewall-library.org |
A volunteer at the Stonewall Library and Archives, which is located in Fort Lauderdale 
John C. Graves (right) made a significant contribution to the library 
Historian Dr. James T. Sears