Happening Tonight

Tonight, Thursday, June 12, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. the Hudson Area Library is hosting a celebration of the library's new and ongoing LGBYQ+ archive. This collection, much of which consists of oral histories of local people who identify as LGBTQ+, has been developed in the past year thanks to funding from The Spark of Hudson, in partnership with the Eutopia Foundation, and funds from Poke the Bear. The program, curated by Jasper Francis, features clips from oral histories that have been completed in the past year. Community members will comment on the importance of the clips chosen. There will be a reception following the program.

The community-sourced LGBTQ+ archive is in collaboration with OutHudson. The evening celebrates the progress of this archive and also informs people of next steps to build the collection. The library is looking for donations (or loans to digitize) of photographs, video, art, documents, ephemera, and memorabilia on Hudson’s vital queer history. Staff will be on hand to answer questions about how the archive will be developed and how items donated or loaned will be handled. All are welcome to attend, learn more, and engage as a community.

Jasper Francis (he/him) is a historian, translator, and writer based in Hudson. He is currently a volunteer researcher with the HAL History Room and works closely with Oral History Summer School.

Interviews for the library's LGBTQ+ focused portion of the Hudson Area Library OralHistory Project collection were recorded in collaboration with OutHudson and with support from The Spark of Hudson and John Schobel and Poke the Bear, in honor of Rich "Trixie" Volo.