Gerber/Hart Library and Archives was founded in 1981 on the belief that knowledge is key to dispelling homophobia and the marginalization of sexual and gender minorities. Gerber/Hart collects, preserves, and makes accessible items related to LGBTQ history and culture. Open to everyone, Gerber/Hart is dedicated to promoting research, learning, exploration, and discovery in a safe atmosphere. Focused primarily on the Midwest, Gerber/Hart has grown to become one of the larger independent LGBTQ libraries and archives, containing a 22,500 volume circulating library, 600 periodicals, 700 newsletters, 150 archive collections (980 linear feet), 1,700 linear feet of Special Collections items, and four exhibition venues.
MISSION
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives believes that knowledge is the key to dispelling homophobia and the marginalization of gender and sexual minorities. A lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)* library, archives, and cultural center, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is dedicated to meeting the information needs of its unique community in a safe atmosphere that promotes research, exploration, and discovery.
As a library, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is committed to acquiring, preserving, and disseminating materials that embody the culture and history of LGBTQ people.
As an archives, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is the repository for the records, papers, and other realia of LGBTQ life, focusing primarily in the Chicago metropolitan area and the Midwest.
As a cultural center, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives makes its collection active and accessible to the public through displays, talks and lectures, workshops and classes, as well as performance, video, and film.
Gerber/Hart Library and Archives’s collection and programming reflect the diversity and rich history of the LGBTQ community. A permanent institution, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is committed to the sound management of its resources.
*Gerber/Hart Library and Archives is open, in view of space availability, to including non-LGBTQ materials that embody the culture and history of people and organizations marginalized by gender and sexuality for whom a library or archives collection has not been established in the Chicago metropolitan area.
BYLAWS
Copies of our current bylaws are available upon request at info@gerberhart.org.