A leading collection of gay and lesbian literature is at the center of a debate in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The director of a library in the city’s Gay and Lesbian Community Center wants the collection moved to a nearby public library. Fort Lauderdale’s mayor, Jim Naugle, fought the plan, saying the collection contains pornography and should not be housed in a city-owned building, according to a report this week in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. But city commissioners overruled the mayor and approved the library’s relocation.
The collection was started in 1973 by Mark Silber, then a student at Florida International University. He started amassing the gay books and magazines to understand his own sexuality, the article says. The collection has grown to 18,000 titles and 7,000 historical documents.—Andrea L. Foster
