Celeste (Celestia) West (November 24, 1942 – January 3, 2008) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

and

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

author, known for her alternative viewpoints in librarianship and her authorship of books about

lesbian sex Lesbian sexual practices are sexual activities involving women who have sex with women, regardless of their sexual orientation. A woman who has sex with another woman may identify as a lesbian if she is sexually attracted to women, or bisexual ...

and

polyfidelity Polyfidelity is a form of non-monogamy, a romantic relationship structure in which all members are considered equal partners and agree to restrict sexual and/or romantic activity only to other members of the group. Origin The practices and b ...

. She herself was polyamorous.

Biography

West was born in

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and largest city in Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the ...

. She earned her BA in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

, and her

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Library Service from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

in 1968. She then moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where she worked at the headquarters of the Bay Area Reference Center at the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...

. She was the second editor of its magazine, ''Synergy'', which won two

ALA Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to: Places * Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village * Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province * Ala, Gotland, Sweden * Alad, S ...

awards but lost its funding in 1973 after West published an unflattering photograph of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. In 1972, West co-founded Booklegger Press, the first woman-owned American library publisher, with her partner at the time, librarian Sue Critchfield, and Valerie Wheat. The press' first publication was an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

edited by West and Elizabeth Katz entitled ''Revolting Librarians''. The anthology, which described biases in contemporary library practices and proposed alternative library models, sold 15,000 copies in three years. She also published the feminist library journal ''Booklegger Magazine'' from 1973 through 1976. Between 1989 and 2006, West worked as the library director at the San Francisco Zen Center. In 1977, West became an associate of the

Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Mo Basic infor ...

(WIFP). WIFP is an American

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media.

Partial bibliography

*''Revolting Librarians'' (editor, 1972) *''Women's Films in Print'' (1975) *''Positive Images: Non-Sexist Films for Young People'' (1976) *''The Passionate Perils of Publishing'' (1978) *''The Public Library Mission Statement and Its Imperatives for Service'' (1979) *''Where Have All the Publishers Gone?'' (1980) *''Book of Lesbian Etiquette'' (1985) *''Words in Our Pockets'' (1985) *''Elsa: I Come With My Songs'' (editor of the autobiography of

Elsa Gidlow Elsa Gidlow (29 December 1898 – 8 June 1986) was a British-born, Canadian-American poet, freelance journalist, philosopher and humanitarian. She is best known for writing ''On a Grey Thread'' (1923), the first volume of openly lesbian love ...

, 1986) *''A Lesbian Love Advisor'' (illustrated by Nicole Ferentz, 1989) *''Lesbian

Polyfidelity Polyfidelity is a form of non-monogamy, a romantic relationship structure in which all members are considered equal partners and agree to restrict sexual and/or romantic activity only to other members of the group. Origin The practices and b ...

'' (illustrated by Nicole Ferentz, 1996)West, Celeste. ''Lesbian Polyfidelity: A Pleasure Guide for the Woman Whose Heart Is Open to Multiple, Concurrent Sexualoves, or How to Keep Non-Monogamy Safe, Sane''. Booklegger Pub, 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Celeste 1942 births 2008 deaths American librarians American women librarians American lesbian writers People from Pocatello, Idaho Rutgers University alumni Polyamory Portland State University alumni 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers Polyamorous people LGBT people from Idaho 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American women