Shelves or Closets?

When you walk into your local book store looking for gay or lesbian books are they somewhere findable (is that a word?) or did you run into this problem?

Don't forget to contribute so that the information you provide can be added to our ever-growing list:

Arizona

Phoenix
Both Barnes and Noble and Borders have clearly-identified G/L book sections in the entire Phoenix Area. Contributed by a local resident

Elk Grove
Borders Books: Well Marked in the Aisle. Excellent selection of both Fiction and Non-fiction as well as most magazines for us. The staff are friendly and are very helpful. I have yet to receive any unfavorable service or remarks. Contributed by a local resident

Sacramento
Barnes and Noble (Arden Faire Mall): The aisles are easily located, the selection is very good, and they offer many of our mainstream magazines including foreign imports. Some of the staff can be a little stuck-up, but they spread to all the patrons. I don't think it's an isolated event. Contributed by a local resident

The Open Book (Midtown): One of my favorite Bookstores. The Open book is one of the few GLBT specialized, owned and operated stores in the country. I try to frequent TOB, as much as possible, The coffee bar is great and they have a very friendly staff. Book Reading Clubs and outdoor patio reading is one of my favorite pastimes at the The Open Book. Contributed by a local resident 

Temecula
Barnes & Noble in Temecula, California had their G/L section marked identical to how the other sections were marked. Not a large selection but they don't try to hide it either. Contributed by a local resident

Woodland Hills
Barnes & Noble Gay/Lesbian section is well marked within the aisle, and the clerks all seem to know the way to point to it. Mostly non-fiction. Very little fiction.

Grand Junction
Hey, I'm in Grand Junction, Colorado. Our Barne's and Noble has a Gay & Lesbian section. It's very small and mostly non-fiction but it is clearly marked. They will offer to order any books that they don't stock. Contributed by a local resident

Aventura
Clearly labeled Gay & Lesbian, on a big green-and-white sign just like all the other sections. I've never really noticed the fiction-to-non-fiction ratio, but there's not so much stuff that I don't wish I could find a gay bookstore. Contributed by a local resident

Southern Maine
There is no Barnes and Noble up here in Southern Maine with me that I know of. The only Borders I know, in South Portland near the Maine Mall, has two large G/L sections, one fiction and one non-fiction. Non-fiction is larger.

The two most remarkable experiences I have had around GLBTQ issues in bookstores here, however, have both been at different branches of aregional chain called Bookland. I grew up with Bookland as the only bookstore I'd ever been to, so I have a lot of affection towards them. However, when I was eighteen, surrounded by shouting children, noise from the cafe, and many other young people reading to each other from books, I and my two friends were kicked out for refusing to "lower our voices." In fact, the three of us were speaking very quietly. I believe we were kicked out for reading excerpts to one another from two or three books of gay and lesbian humor within the hearing range of an older woman. (Allow me to add in my defense that we had been in the store and at the table first, that the woman chose to sit so close to us.) The second time I was older (20 or 21) and slightly less prone to outrage. I went to the magazine rack and discovered that not only did they not have CURVE or GIRLFRIENDS (forget about ON OUR BACKS, despite the five different traditional male-produced porno titles), but they didn't even have MS. When I asked about this, not surprisingly it took ten or fifteen minutes to find a manager to tell me it was about what "people wanted to read." Now they did have OUT and THE ADVOCATE, so I don't think anyone believes they don't have queers in that community, and they did have PLAYBOY, PENTHOUSE, etc, all containing depictions of lesbians, and they did have WOMAN'S DAY, a magazine for women, so I think lesbians and queers sell quite well in that store. When I pointed this out to them she gave me "The Manager Look," which translates roughly to,"You can get over it or get out of my store." So I left, telling her I would not return until they changed their policies, which I felt to be particularly hurtful to teenage queer women and girls, and I have not. Bookland closed a large number of their branches in Maine, including the second one I mentioned, and the first was sold to new owners. I doubt it was due to my individual protests, but I hope it was because of the community's intolerance of homophobia and censorship. Contributed by a local resident

Minnesota
B. Dalton's (B&N Lite) in Minnesota has the gay-related books are plainly displayed in the "cultures and lifestyles" section. Contributed by a local resident

St. Louis
I live in Missouri - the local bookstores are Barnes and Noble, Waldenbooks, Borders and B.Dalton. The local indy store is Mokabe's. B&N and Borders are terrific - everyone knows where the section is, it's large, and mixed fiction and non fiction. Mokabe's is better, because they carry the more arcane stuff. Waldenbooks and B.Dalton both bite - they have tiny sections, hidden away in a corner, and they're reluctant to tell you where they are. Contributed by a local resident

East Hanover
The Borders store in East Hanover NJ has a rack marked "Gender Studies" in the middle of its sociology-type books. This is, of course, their code phrase for gay folks. Women's Studies is a separate rack right next to it. Contributed by About's Guide to Crime, Bill Bickel. Do pop by his site when you have a chance.

Ledgewood/Succasunna
Here in one of the few New Jersey counties to vote heavily Republican ("Morris County") last year, The G&L books have their own rack in the heart of the non-fiction section, with Women's Issues to the left and African-American Studies to the right. Contributed by About's Guide to Crime, Bill Bickel. Do pop by his site when you have a chance.

Albany
Both the Barnes and Noble and Borders chains have large and well stocked gay/lesbian section (Barnes and Noble better than our one independent gay/feminist friendly bookstore, actually). And they are clearly labeled. Waldenbooks (of which we have two) one has a gay books section which is labeled but also hidden at the bottom of a shelf at the back of the store and on that used to have a gay books section but didn't the last time I was there. Contributed by R.J. Faas

Beavercreek
The B&N in Beavercreek, OH has a very obvious GLBT section, and it's practically the only one in town. Contributed by a local resident

Philadelphia
Generally, BN and Borders are both pretty good in the Philly area, both center-city and suburbs, as to LG (but not at all well stocked on B or T). But in the Philly gayborhood, we're blessed with Giovanni's Room, one of the premier LGBT bookstores nationally, and it's particularly good as to trans-inclusiveness. (And it also has a reasonably decent CD and quite good video section, which you'd never find in BN/Borders. As to out-music, though, I've found Lambda Rising in Washington DC to be better stocked than Giovanni's Room.)

It's nice if BN/Borders and the other chains are nice to us, but when we have a bookstore of our own that's reasonably accessible to us, that's what we should support. And bear in mind that the chains are going to be mainstream LG. You'd be quite lucky just to find the recently reissued memoirs of Christine Jorgenson in BN/Borders, much less something like Les Feinberg's _Stone Butch Blues_. And more technically oriented trans-literature (e.g., legal rights during transitioning, medical issues of hormones, HIV in TG/TS populations) will *ONLY* be found in our *OWN* stores. Contributed by a local resident

Fort Worth
Ican tell you that at my local store, which is a B. Dalton, they just don't have a gay/lesbian section because they just do not have the market for it. At the Barnes and Noble downtown, there is a gay/lesbian section, although it is only a single bay. At the Barnes and Noble in Midtown, there is not a gay and lesbian section per se, however, they do have gay and lesbian books and are always happy to help find them. Contributed by a local resident

Lynchberg
The Barnes & Noble has a VERY nice GLBT section. The GLBT magazines are not hidden. The Advocate is kept with the other news/event magazines (like Time). By the way, Lynchberg is better known as "Jerry Falwell's town." Contributed by a local resident

Roanoke
OutwardConnections is a wonderful GLBT bookstore with a very friendly group of owners/staff.

Barnes & Noble is the same as in Lynchburg

Books-a-Million: GLBT books are mixed in with books such as "Jeffery Dalhmer" (and other such books)! The magazines are hard to find. The lesbian interest magazines are hidden in the Men's Fashion sections. The BAM in Blacksburg, VA is the same way. One day my partner took all the lesbian magazines out of Men's Fashion and put them in the Women's Interests where they belonged! We've complained, but it doesn't help. Contributed by a local resident

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