Grabbing Tea

This is the first of a two volume set. The second volume is Grabbing Tea: Queer Conversations on Archives and Practice (Volume Two). Number 14 in the Litwin Books Series on Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies, Emily Drabinski, series editor.

Grabbing Tea: Queer Conversations on Identity and Libraries (Volume One) centers queerness in library practice and theory across academic and public libraries. Conversations from library staff and users focus on identity, community practice and outreach, visibility and coming out or being outed in the library. These conversations between LGBTQ+ library staff (and others) integrate interpersonal experiences of professionalism as queer folks in the field, as well as dive into their relationships and points of connections with each other and the communities they serve. Authors invite readers to join their conversations that consider the fluidity of our bodies as queer bodies, and our lives as queer lives inside of the library.

Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz is a volunteer archivist at the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and an Assistant Curator, and Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning, and Engagement at New York University Division of Libraries. Shawn is a recipient of the 2020 WGSS Award for Significant Achievement in Women’s & Gender Studies in Librarianship sponsored by Duke University Press, administered by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), for her work archiving the Salsa Soul Sisters, the first lesbian of color organization in the country. She is a board member for CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY) and chairs the CLAGS Archives committee. Shawn has a BS in Queer Women’s Studies from the CUNY Baccalaureate Program, an MFA in Creative Writing/Fiction, and an MLS with a focus on Archiving and Records Management from Queens College. She is also a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Pratt School of Information. Shawn is currently interested in Critical Race Theory and its intersections with queer narrative formation, specifically as it relates to the silencing of black lesbians, their herstories, and their spaces.

Sara A. Howard is the Librarian for Gender & Sexuality Studies and Student Engagement at Princeton University. Sara works closely with stakeholders across campuses invested in the production and promotion of GSS research. In her work, Sara focuses on the importance of self-care for librarians and researchers alike and seeks to transform research services for traditionally under-served populations. Sara has published work looking at bias in library cataloging classification systems and labor issues within libraries. Prior to Princeton, Sara held positions at Wesleyan University and Queens College. When outside of the library, Sara enjoys cooking with way too much garlic, swimming in all bodies of water and hanging with her pup, Rosie!