Finding Books

Reserve Books

Subject Headings

Reference Sources

Finding Articles

Web Resources

Evaluating Sources

Citing Sources

Additional Help

Searching the Library Catalog for Books & Other Materials

To locate books and other materials in CCSF Libraries, select the Library Catalog from the Library's Homepage. You will notice many ways to search, such as Title, Author, Subject, Subject Keyword, etc.

Examples of Subject searches include: Bisexuality, Bisexuals, Gay men, Gays, Lesbians, Homosexuality, Lesbians -- Fiction, Gay men -- Fiction, etc., Gay couples, Lesbian couples, etc.

Find queer artists, painters, authors, etc. by using the author index to search for last name: Abbott, Berenice; or Baez, Joan; or Baldwin, James; or Brooks, Romaine; etc.

Reserve Materials

Reserve Materials include books, sample tests, class notes, and other items that instructors put at the library for class use. The check out time is shorter than regular circulating books.

To search for a book on reserve in the Library Catalog, select from the pulldown menu, either Reserve Materials by Course or Reserve Materials by Instructor.

When you have located the materials, write down the Call Number and Title and present this to a staff person at the Circulation Desk.

Top

Browsing the Library Collection

Materials in the Library are shelved by call number according to the Library of Congress classification system. Books are arranged on the shelves by subject.

Relevant areas in the collection to find materials on transgender studies include:

Top

Library Materials

You may find the following books and videos to be helpful starting points for information and further research. Most of these materials are available at CCSF.

Using Key Reference Sources

Bronski, Michael. Outstanding Lives: Profiles of Lesbians and Gay Men. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1997. Ref HQ75.3 .O97 1997

Curry, Hayden. A Legal Guide for Lesbian and Gay Couples. 12th ed. Berkeley: Nolo, 2004. Ref KF539 .L44 2004

Ellis, Alan. The Harvey Milk Institute Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Internet Research. New York: Harrington Park, 2002. Ref HQ76.25 .H375 2002

Haggerty, George E., ed. Gay Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 2000. Ref HQ75.13 .G37 2000

Stein, Marc, ed. Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America. New York: Scribner's, 2004. Ref HQ76.3.U5 E53 2004

Zimmerman, Bonnie, ed. Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 2000. Ref HQ75.5 .L4395 2000

Sample of Other Library Materials

This is a very small percentage of the numerous items available.

Please notice that some of the video recordings are in the collections of the Audiovisual Department at the Ocean Campus. Students may request these video recordings for viewing in the Media Center on the Fourth Floor of the Rosenberg Library. Please see the Service Desk of the Media Center for details.

Abbott, Sidney, and Barbara Love. Sappho Was a Right-On Woman: A Liberated View of Lesbianism. New York: Stein and Day, 1972. HQ75.6 .A23

Berube, Allan. Coming Out under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two. New York: Free Press, 1990. D769.2 .B46 1990

Brown, Lester B. Two Spirit People: American Indian, Lesbian Women and Gay Men. New York: Haworth, 1997. E98.S48 T84 1997

Burg, B.R., ed. Gay warriors: A Documentary History from the Ancient World to the Present. New York: New York University Press, 2002. UH630 .G39 2002

Colette. Earthly Paradise: An Autobiography. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1966. PQ2605.O28 Z5

Drucker, Jane. Families of Value: Gay and Lesbian Parents and Their Children Speak Out. New York: Insight Books, 1998. HQ76.3.U5 D78 1998

Epstein, Robert and Richard Schmiechen. The Times of Harvey Milk. [videorecording] San Francisco: Black Sand Productions, 1984. Audiovisual Dept. / V 1945

Etheridge, Melissa. Skin. [sound recording] New York: Island, 2001. Media Center / CD 1733

Gidlow, Elsa. I Come with My Songs: The Autobiography of Elsa Gidlow. San Francisco: Bootlegger Press, 1986. PS3513.I29 Z68 1986

Hutchins, Loraine, and Lani Kaahumanu, eds. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out. 1st ed. Boston: Alyson, 1991. HQ74 .B5 1990

Journal of Homosexuality . [microfilm] Haworth Press, 1981 onwards. Rosenberg Periodicals Dept.

Kates, Nancy, and Bennett Singer, dir. Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin. [videorecording] [S.l.]: California Newsreel, 2002. Southeast Library / SVHS 0152

Lesbian-Feminist Dialogue . [Sound recording] Los Angeles: Pacifica Tape Library, 1972. Media Center / D 1128 cassette

Lorde, Audre. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. Trumansburg, N.Y.: Crossing Press, c1982. PS3562.O75 Z23 1982

Luckhardt, Ulrich, and Paul Melia. David Hockney: A Drawing Retrospective. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1996. NC242.H6 A4 1996

On Being Gay . [Sound recording] Los Angeles: Pacifica Tape Library, 1972. Media Center / D 1129 cassette

Pratibha Parmar, dir. Khush. [videorecording] New York: Women Make Movies [distributor], 1991. Audivisual Dept. / V 0942

Riggs, Marlon, dir. Tongues Untied. [videorecording] Santa Monica, CA: Strand Releasing, c1996. Audivisual Dept. / V 0881

Rauch, Jonathan. Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America. 1st ed. New York: Times Books/Henry Holt, 2004. HQ1034.U5 R38 2004

Russo, Vito. The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies. Rev. ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1987. PN1995.9.H55 R8 1987

San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. Let There Be Music. [sound recording] San Francisco: G.G.P.A., 1980. Media Center / D 3044 cassette

Shilts, Randy. Conduct Unbecoming: Lesbians and Gays in the U.S. Military : Vietnam to the Persian Gulf . New York: St. Martin's, 1993. UB418.G38 S55 1993

Stein, Peter L., dir. The Castro. [videorecording]. San Francisco: KQED, 1997. John Adams Library: JVHS 0505

Trujillo, Carla, ed. Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us about. Berkeley: Third Woman Press, c1991. HQ75.6.U5 C53 1991

Weiss, Andrea. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community. Tallahassee, FL: Naiad Press, 1988. HQ76.8.U5 W43 1988

Note: Most periodical databases are part of the private, passworded Web, so you will need to have a current CCSF ID card with a barcode to access those that CCSF subscribes to. All CCSF student ID cards should have a barcode number. More information about obtaining a library bar code.

Infotrac Web
Infotrac is a brand name for several databases with coverage from 1980 to the present. All of the Infotrac database collections can be used to find information on some aspect of queer studies. There are many specific Subject Guide terms. Here are some examples:

a. African American Gays
b. Bisexuality
c. Coming Out (Homosexuality)
d. Discrimination against Gays
e. Gay Parents
f. Homosexuality in Motion Pictures.
g. Lesbians’ Writings

Within the Literature Resource Center, you can create lists of authors who have written about queer life by using the Authors by Type search, leaving blank the space for Author Name, and for Theme choosing: Gender confusion, Homosexuality, Lesbianism, Sexual Identity

Proquest
For ProQuest, examples of good subject searches: Same Sex Marriage, Lesbians AND Military, Bisexual Men, etc

Below are some examples of academic/scholarly web sites transgender studies. If yu use a search engine, such as Google, remember to evaluate the quality of the results.

New York Public Library Research Guides: Gay and Lesbian Studies. Selected Internet Sites. http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/grd/resguides/gay/gay.cfm An excellent guide to about 100 websites, organized by category: History, Law, Gay Rights, Archives and Collections, etc. A description is given for each site.

GLBT Historical Society. http://www.glbthistory.org/ The GLBT Historical Society, located in San Francisco , collects primary source materials. Their collections are open to the public – check website for hours. Online search tools may help your determine what materials they have for your topic.

glbtq: an Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, & Queer Culture. http://www.glbtq.com/ An online encyclopedia edited by two emeriti professors of queer studies.

Human Rights Campaign. http://www.hrc.org/ HRC advocates for queer rights. Their site includes information about current state laws, as well as pending legislation and court cases.

National Center for Lesbian Rights. http://www.nclrights.org/ Headquartered in San Francisco, NCLR is a major advocate for legal and civil rights. Their site includes helpful summaries and factsheets on Families, Parenting, Relationship Recognition, and Marriage.

Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military. http://www.gaymilitary.ucsb.edu/ See the Research Resources page for primary sources directly available in electronic form as well as for links to other web resources. CSSMM is sponsored by UC Santa Barbara.

Freedom to Marry. http://www.freedomtomarry.org/ This website carries the latest news about marriage rights.

List of Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual People. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famous_gay,_lesbian_or_bisexual_people Wikipedia, a participatory, online encyclopedia maintains this list of famous people who were (or are) queer.

Top

Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Webpages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask
A UC Berkeley - Teaching Library Internet Workshops

Critically Analyzing Information Sources
Developed by Olin-Kroch-Uris Libraries at Cornell University.

Evaluating and Citing Source
A quick and easy check list to use when determining the quality of web documents. Prepared by Librarians at CCSF.

Top

Need More Assistance?

For additional help you may contact the Reference Desk by phone at (415) 452-5543 or stop by the East and West reference desks at the Rosenberg Library.

eRef
Electronic Reference Service to CCSF students, faculty, staff and registered community users. Use this service when you are NOT in a CCSF library.

Library and Web Research Workshops
FIfty minute workshops are given throughout the semester on effective methods in searching for books, articles and information on the Internet.

Top