Blanche M. Baker Memorial Library
Few were so universally loved within the Los Angeles homosexual movement as San Francisco psychologist Blanche M. Baker.
Dr. Baker frequently journeyed to Los Angles to consult with the administrators of ONE, Incorporated and participate in ONE's annual meetings. ONE’s library was dedicated as The Blanche M. Baker Memorial Library on January 15, 1965. Three months later, on April 18, ONE was to forever fracture, with the library and half of ONE’s board members settling in a new location across from Universal City in the San Fernando Valley and incorporating in 1967 as the Homosexual Information Center (HIC).
At the time of the schism, the Blanche M. Baker Memorial Library had come to amass 2102 volumes. This section of the website seeks to reconstruct the library as it was at the time of the split. This database privides us with a rare glimpse into the mindsets of the administrators of ONE Institute and the publishing of ONE Magazine and ONE Institute Quarterly. These sources provide a unique glimpse into the pre-gay era and the age of homophile activism.
Don Slater and Jack Gibson were the first curators of the library, which began when ONE was created in 1953. Jim Kepner, who had started collecting homosexual-themed materials in the 1940s, contributed many of his books when he joined the organization in 1954. Other significant contributors to this archives include Vern Bullough, Joseph Hansen, Dr. Harry Benjamin, Blanche M. Baker, and Charles Hamer.
Where possible, the item’s current location is indicated. HIC refers to the Homosexual Information Center. Books at the Vern and Bonnie Bullough on Human Sexuality (CSUN) are or will soon be available to the public through the Vern and Bonnie Bullough Collection on Human Sexuality in Oviatt Library at CSUN.
There are over 2,102 known objects in the Baker Library at the time of ONE's division, in 1965. They are listed in tables of 250 items per table and may be browsed through the following links.
| Titles 1-250 | Titles 251-500 | Titles 501-750 |
|---|---|---|
| Titles 751-1000 | Titles 1001-1250 | Titles 1251-1500 |
| Titles 1501-1750 | Titles 1751-2000 | Titles 2001-2102 |
It has taken many years to assemble and edit this information. The HIC expresses gratitude to C. Todd White, Megan R. Geier, Joan Rivard, John Richards,Jim Schneider, and David Reinhard for helping to glean, validate, and edit this data.
