'I know a place': the informational value and loss of queer spaces
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir31ISIC65157Keywords:
Queer Spaces, Information Practices, Information Circulation, Embodied Information Seeking, Information ActivismAbstract
Introduction. This study examines the informational functions of queer spaces (physical and digital) and the consequences of their loss for identity formation, community support, and information circulation.
Method. We conducted fifteen semi-structured Zoom interviews with US queer adults who had lost access to a queer space. Participants were recruited via convenience and snowball sampling and received a small honorarium.
Analysis. Interviews (mean 53 minutes) were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a six-step thematic analysis with an abductive coding approach. Iterative analysis generated three primary, interrelated themes that structure the findings.
Results. Queer spaces operate as information hubs that enable embodied information encountering, localised circulation, and grassroots information activism (e.g., archiving, resource curation, community networks). Loss of these spaces disrupted localised knowledge flows, hindered identity work, and forced redistribution of labour to digital and decentralised networks. Participants described strategies to sustain legacies, including social media archiving, community organising, and do-it-yourself resource sharing, yet noted challenges of fragmentation, gentrification, and threats of violence.
Conclusion. Findings highlight the need for localised, community-driven information provision and suggest roles for libraries, archives, and policymakers in preserving queer spaces and the information practices they sustain.
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