Revolution in the Library

Your guide to lefty data

Radical Reference librarians unlock treasure troves of information for social justice seekers

 

by MATT JONES

October 21, 2010

STACKING POINTS: Megan Fitzgibbons and Robin Kelley
Photo by RACHEL GRANOFSKY

Radical Reference is a growing movement of librarians and other bookish radicals who want to use their various cataloguing skills to not only efficiently replace stacks of used hardbacks on the right shelves, but also make the world a more socially just place. If you’re an activist looking to poke a hole in the system, they’ll point you to the books, stats, databases, micro­form and esoteric library collections that can help you transform your manifesto from dismal diatribe to revelatory report. A Montreal chapter has been in the works since the summer and is set to be unveiled this weekend.

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Trans without homes

A room of their own

Transsexual and transgender homeless say they’re being turned away from sex-specific shelters

by MATT JONES

October 14, 2010

ROOF ACCESS DENIED: ASTT(e)Q’s Jackson Ezra and Bianca Aponte
Photo by RACHEL GRANOFSKY

Changes in health funding last February have made it easier to get sex reassignment surgery in Quebec, but transsexuals and transgender activists say trans people in the province con­tinue to face discrimination that can make it difficult to hold down housing and employment. Even homeless shelters are not always a refuge, as their gender-segregated dorms don’t always know where to put trans people, say frontline workers at the Action Santé Travesti(e)s et Transsexuel(le)s du Québec (ASTT(e)Q, pronounced “aztec”). The group, run by and for trans people, is currently raising cash for an emergency housing fund that helps provide for trannies with nowhere to go.

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