LGBT Studies Research Guide

Use Library Search to find books, journals, videos, government documents, microfilm collections and other materials at the Emory libraries, including Woodruff; Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library; Goizueta Business; Pitts Theology; Woodruff Health Sciences Center; McMillan Law; Science Commons; Music and Media; and Oxford libraries.

From Library Search:

• Type in your keywords
• When you get some results, use "Refine Search Results" on the left to narrow your search by author, item type, date and more.

Too many search results?

• Add additional terms to your search
• Limit your search by item type, exact phrase, and/or author/title/subject using Library Search's drop-down menus
• Use Library Search's "Limit Your Search" feature (in the left column) 

Too few results?

• Remove some terms from your search
• Add synonyms using OR [in upper case] with parentheses - for example (women OR woman OR female)

Off-topic results?

• Try using the advanced search
• Ask a librarian for help

In locating books or films related to LGBTQ+ issues, identities, creators, communities, or resources, users may search via keyword, subject heading, title, and author, and have the opportunity to filter search results for more specific results. To begin or narrow your search, try the following terms (or a different combination of identity/subject and genre of literary work)

• Bisexual fiction

• Bisexual romance fiction

• Intersex drama

• Gay science fiction

• Gay fantasy fiction

• LGBTQ+ books

• LGBTQ+ fantasy fiction

• LGBTQ+ fanfiction

• LGBTQ+ fiction

• LGBTQ+ literary criticism

• LGBTQ+ mystery and detective fiction

• Lesbian literature

• Lesbian science fiction

• Original slash fiction

• Queer youth literature

• Queer drama

• Transgender literature

• Two-Spirit literature

If a user is looking for a book covering transgender topics, the user ought to search “transgender” with a keyword search, and then select Resource Type > Book to specifically locate written materials. To conduct a general search for resources, consider a keyword search composed of the “[identity/expression] + [subject area of interest].” For example, if you wanted to search generally for the state of transgender medical care, you might search “Transgender healthcare” or “Transgender Medicalization.”

For a full list of possible terms to search for, please follow this link (https://homosaurus.org/v3) to browse through Homosaurus’s controlled vocabulary. Homosaurus’s more inclusive terminology enhances the discoverability of LGBTQ+ resources in the collection, partly because it is frequently updated to reflect and standardize terms and vocabulary that come in and out of popular or common usage, especially by LGBTQ+ communities themselves. Searching broadly for LGBTQ+ literature will also provide a broad set of results.

Users may either filter by Resource Type > Video or Visual Material to locate films instead of texts, or use “video” or “film” as a keyword in the search field. If users would like help learning about more specific terms, they may navigate to Homosaurus’s controlled vocabulary for the full list of searchable terms at https://homosaurus.org/. Both physical media and streaming films can be found through Emory’s catalog. The following search terms are recommended when searching for LGBTQ+ films:

• LGBTQ+ films

• LGBTQ+ cinema

• LGBTQ+ erotic films

• Lesbian films

• Gay films

• Bisexual films

• Two-spirit films

• Transgender films

• Queer films

• Intersex films

• Asexual films

• Demisexual films

• Non-binary films

• LGBTQ+ film censorship

• LGBTQ+ film festivals

You may also narrow your search by selecting “Video or Visual Material” from the Resource Type filter section on the left sidebar.