Published by Starship Publications, GLIB was chosen as the name because it is a combination of the words 'gay' and 'liberation', and the word "glib" has the definition of being 'free and unconstrained', a feeling the publishers wished to promote among gay people. The focus of the paper was to be on the personal interests of "the tens of thousands of Wisconsinites who happen to be gay"- including especially those who don't frequent the bars and those just coming out; and was planned to include a regional guide and review, news, and features.

The first issue of GLIB was liberally sprinkled with ads of local bars and businesses, offering an early glimpse of those businesses' PR senses. That first "GLIB Guide" listed 20 bars, 2 baths and 3 restaurants in Milwaukee, and also listed one bar each in Appleton, Kenosha and Madison, plus a list of Chicago bars. it is the first known comprehensive listing of Wisconsin area Gay and Lesbian bars; the only other local publication of the times, the GPU News, never printed a "bar guide".

Through this web site, we were thrilled to be contacted by the publisher, Rick Chris, a few months ago. His recollections follow:

"I was a pioneering gay publisher back in the mid-70s. Bad idea on my part and the paper only lasted a few issues. First off, the folks at GPU News felt threatened, Milwaukee couldn't support a gay paper at the time and some gay people even felt threatened by a gay paper - that it was something that was too "California". The paper's name was GLIB and I felt it was such a big mistake on my part that I didn't keep any issues from it."

Through Jerry Johnson's collection, donated to the UWM Special Collections, we are able to present the two issues shown here. To our knowledge, no other issues exist. Enjoy!