Nicki Loder

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to help in Cupid's matchmaking by teaching the class, Online Dating 101: Okay, Cupid? , at Roger's Memorial Library. Online dating can seem overwhelming and intimidating, so I took it upon myself to break it down step by step for this class. Matchmaking services are nothing new. People have been seeking relationships through personal advertisements as early as the 18th century ( Cock, H.G. 2010, as cited in HuffPost , 2017). However, it wasn't until 1965 that we had our first computer-based dating system. Harvard students created Operation Match , where individuals filled out questionnaires and let a computer algorithm determine who their best match was! Online dating sites haven't recreated the wheel, but they are continuing to spin it! There are plenty of reasons to use online dating services. Many join to meet new people, share new experiences, fit a social life in a busy schedule, and even just to date on the...

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of speaking on the Queerbrarians: Libraries, Pop Culture, and the LGBTQ+ Community panel at the 2019 Flame Con in New York City. Flame Con, sponsored by Geeks OUT, a nonprofit organization,was the first and is the largest queer comic convention. “Featuring a two-day comics, arts and entertainment expo, showcasing creators and special guests from all corners of the LGBTQ fandom. It features thoughtful discussions, exclusive performances, screenings, cosplay and more!” ( Flame Con.org/about ). During the 2017 Flame Con, my fellow panelist noticed there was a need for promoting library collections and services to the Flame Con community. Individuals were looking for suggestions on how to access queer media when my co-panelist exclaimed “go to your public library! You’ve already paid for those items”. And with that, Queerbrarians was born. Screenshot of Flame Con ‘Queerbrarians’ panel description ...