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Is Barnes Noble?

Dateline: 03/26/99

I'm a book person (you've already seen just a small portion of my personal reading list), and like any good book person I spend a good deal of my real life book hours wandering through my local Barnes & Noble. I've generally been able to find the newest GLBT non-fiction books (for fiction I still have to hit my local GLBT bookstore, which yes --- okay --- I know, is the inherently better way to do it for all the reasons we all know and I'm not perfect, I admit it) with little trouble.

Of course, the Barnes & Nobles I've visited have been in "cities" such as Sherman Oaks, Burbank, and Woodland Hills, all bastions of Hollywood (and other forms of) liberalism.

Then the other day my father forwarded me a piece of mail from a mailing list he's on. I read it, interested, but knowing that there was something he wanted me to see, I kept reading looking for the it that it was ... and I found it, and made a mental note, and forwarded it to myself.

Then my mother sent me the same mail, culling to just the pertinent part, with the advisory, "I suggest you check this out before you do anything with it, but if it is true, it should be exposed." So I forwarded it to myself again, and share it with you now (thereby checking to see whether it is true in order to expose same if it is just like Mom said):

Dear Holt Uncensored,

Hey, I think I have a story for you. You'll have to check whether this is a corporate or local policy, but . . .

I went to Barnes & Noble after checking around at the local bookstores, because i was doing research on gay issues, and the smaller stores don't have gay sections. i called ahead and was told that Barnes & Noble HAS a gay books section. So I went in and spent 20 minutes walking around and around looking for it.

Finally I asked a sales clerk. He said oh yeah, sure we have it, and he led me to the section marked "Anthologies." Not GAY anthologies, you understand -- ALL anthologies, of any kind. I said, "but these are anthologies." He said, "only the first two shelves are anthologies. The rest are gay books." there were shelves and shelves of gay novels, stories, all kinds of non- fiction.

I said, "I don't understand. Why is this section marked anthologies?" He said, "Well, we HAVE a gay section, but we just don't mark it that way," and he quickly walked away.

This was the B&N on route 17S in Paramus. There are three or four others in this area, but I haven't had time to go and check out each one. You could try calling, but i don't know if you'll get an accurate answer.

If I were still at my old newspaper, I'd have a blast with it. but I'm not. So go for it.

The fellow who sent out the newsletter asks:

(Note to readers from Holt: I'm astounded at this, but let's ALL "go for it!" Next time you're in a Barnes & Noble and have the time and inclination to see if there's a Gay section, or if it's somehow been "closeted," let me know.)

... As do I.

Let me know here, and I'll post 'em and forward 'em. Just include the city and state of your local B&N (Or any bookstore chain - let's check them all out!) - and we'll create a library section for the results (along with forwarding the information to my parents and the nice mailing list).

By the way, re-checked my most local B&N to find that the G/L section is well marked within the aisle, and the clerks all seem to know the way to point to it.

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In Pride,
Deborah

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