Rainbow History Project

As a child, Tami Albin, a University of Kansas librarian, remembers getting the message that it was inappropriate to have crushes on other girls. She also remembers the few books available about growing up gay when she went looking for answers in her public library.

That’s partly why Albin, 38, is reaching out to gay, lesbian, bisexual, trangendered, and questioning youth—and their parents—by recording up to 100 oral history interviews with a wide range of gay people. The interviews will be posted next September on KU ScholarWorks, the university’s online digital repository.

Albin’s archive isn’t coming from people living in big cities like San Francisco or New York, but Middle America. Using $10,000 in faculty and research grants, Albin has finished 20 interviews and anticipates sessions with more than 100-plus people, ages 25 to 80, who have contacted her. Interviews will be available as transcripts, streaming video, and streaming audio.