The Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge will once again partner with CSUN’s gender and women’s studies department, queer studies program, and Pride Center to present their second annual “Sex in the Library” series of lectures and presentations.

“Sex in the Library: Beyond Boundaries” will kick off on Tuesday, April 28, with “The Arousal: Queer Studies Student Research Symposium,” from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., in the Jack and Florence Ferman Presentation Room located on the garden level in the Oviatt Library. This first event in the series will feature student research presentations from the Queer Studies program.

“Students have been specifically challenged to use the archival materials held in the Vern and Bonnie Bullough Collection on Sex and Gender to inform their research,” said Gregory Knotts, coordinator of the Queer Studies program.

On Monday, May 4, the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies will present “The Climax: Gender and Women’s Studies Student Research Symposium,” also in the Library’s Jack and Florence Ferman Presentation Room. This daylong program will include three panels of student research project presentations.

In addition to the panels, keynote speaker Tiffany Willoughby-Heard from the University of California, Irvine, will present “People of the Body vs. People of the Mind and the work of Gargi Bhattacharyya.” The keynote address by Willoughby-Heard will begin at 2:00 p.m., and, like all events in this series, is open to students, staff, faculty and the public.

“Sex in the Library: Beyond Boundaries,” will culminate on Thursday, May 7, in the library’s newly remodeled Music and Media Lecture Room, with “The Afterglow: Closing Reception & Scholarship Ceremony,” from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 pm.

The closing reception, co-hosted by the Oviatt Library and the Pride Center, will feature a keynote address by Andy Sacher, founding executive and creative director of “The Lavender Effect.”

In addition, two students, one from queer studies and one from gender and women’s studies, will be presented with Vern and Bonnie Bullough Endowment Student Research Awards. The selection of these scholarships is based on the students’ successful integration of archival research into their capstone projects. Funding for these scholarships is provided by the Vern and Bonnie Bullough Endowment, which was also the catalyst for the creation of this series of events. The primary objective of the Bullough Endowment is to support programs and exhibitions featuring speakers on the topics of human sexuality and gender issues.

A detailed schedule of all “Sex in the Library: Beyond Boundaries” programing can be found on the Exhibitions and Events page on the Oviatt Library website at http://library.csun.edu/blogs/goingson, or by calling (818) 677-2638.

The Oviatt Library is located at the center of the California State University, Northridge campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. Parking is $6.00 and daily parking permits may be purchased at booths or online at www.thepermitstore.com/csun/event/. The Oviatt Library serves as the main research facility in the San Fernando Valley. For more information about the Library or its hours please visit their website at http://library.csun.edu/ or call (818) 677- 2285.

Delmar T. Oviatt Library