LILAC

LILAC (Lesbian Information, Library, and Archives Centre) is a resource center in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand dedicated to serving the lesbian community. In a podcast recorded on September 2, 2010, Carole Hicks and Maddy Drew discuss LILAC's history and activities. The center, which began operation around 1994, was born out of a need for accessible lesbian resources—something the public libraries lacked at the time. LILAC has a wide collection of fiction, with an emphasis on detective stories and includes an array of nonfiction works, queer theory, biographies, DVDs, and even VHS tapes.

Both Hicks and Drew recount how they became involved with LILAC—Hicks through their desire to contribute to the lesbian community and Drew after advocating for younger women as president of UniQ Victoria, a university support group. Hicks and Drew highlight that LILAC is not just a haven for books but also a hub for community activities and resources. Despite the advent of digital media, there remains a strong demand for LILAC's physical books and DVDs, proving the resilience and continued importance of such a space.

The center is not without its challenges, however. A pivotal contention in the past has been the language around membership and inclusion. In a move to become more inclusive, LILAC amended its membership criteria from solely identifying as lesbian to include any woman with a non-heterosexual identity prioritizing relationships with women. This change reflected broader societal shifts in identification and the need for intergenerational conversations on labels and self-identification. Adapting to members' needs, LILAC regularly consults its community on events and resources, striving to serve as an informative and supportive space in a variety of ways.

LILAC has undergone physical relocations over time, the latest being an airy space on Cambridge Terrace, offering new possibilities for events such as movie nights and book clubs. The current membership hovers around sixty, and recent efforts have been devoted to retaining members as well as ensuring financial stability, as LILAC relies on grants and donations to operate. Responding to community needs, the center has introduced a postal borrowing system to reach those unable to physically visit the space and maintains an active digital presence with a website and social media outreach.

Despite the potential drawbacks of technology, physical books and a tangible community space remain critical to LILAC's mission. The center stands as a significant community space filled with history and a dedication to serving lesbians in Wellington and abroad. It emphasizes the importance of providing a non-alcoholic social environment and strives to remain a welcoming first point of contact to those new to the community, affording opportunities for networking, support, and fostering a sense of belonging.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

Carole Hicks Maddy Drew

1980s, 2010s, amy greenwood, archives, books, carole hicks, collective, history, intergenerational, labels, lesbian, lesbian information, library and archives centre (lilac), library, maddy drew, naming, organisation, reading, representation, uniq victoria (wellington), wai ho, wellington

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