Attend an eye-opening evening full of rich discourse with Cornelia King ’75, Chief of Reference at the Library Company of Philadelphia, as she delves into her work recovering LGBTQ History at the Library Company of Philadelphia.
Cornelia King ’75 majored in archaeology at Bryn Mawr. She then became a librarian (Drexel University M.S. in Library and Information Science) with a concentration in rare books. The training in archaeology was good preparation for examining books as physical objects. Her first job in the field was the compilation of two book-length bibliographies listing pre-1861 works related to American education and American philanthropy. After getting a second masters degree in American history (Temple University M.A. in history), she increasingly has focused on American social history. Her position at the Library Company has presented her with opportunities to curate public exhibitions on the topics of LGBTQ history and women’s activism in 19th-century America.
As Curator of Women’s History (in addition to being Chief of Reference), Connie promotes the study of women’s history at the Library Company of Philadelphia, an independent research library which was founded as a subscription library in 1731. Because of its diverse collections, historical research on almost any topic can be done on in the Library Company’s reading rooms. In the 21st century, the curators seek to explore topics of current relevance, especially African American history, women’s history, disability studies, and environmental studies.
In 2014, the Library Company’s exhibition “That’s So Gay”: Outing Early America featured 100 items that documented LGBT history, as part of the ongoing work recovering aspects of history relating to LGBTQ history. In this talk, Connie will discuss her work as curator of that exhibition, as well as what the Library Company is continuing to do to promote the study of LGBTQ history.
WHAT: That’s So Gay: My Work Recovering LGBTQ History at the Library Company of Philadelphia, a presentation by Chief of Reference at the Library Company of Philadelphia, Cornelia King ’75
WHEN: Tuesday, October 5th at 6:30 PM
WHERE: Please RSVP HERE. A Zoom Link will be provided upon registration AND on the day of the event.
HOW MUCH: $20.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Helen Thurston ’74 at hthurston77@earthlink.net.