LGBTQ
The Free Library of Philadelphia celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June with book and film recommendations, events for all ages, and resources in Philadelphia. Through this Explore Topic, you can also find lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer resources and support, emphasizing the diversity of sexual and gender identity-based cultures. Other resources include information on bullying, safety, and coming out; books and resources for parents and siblings; biographies of important LGBTQ figures in the community; and award-winning LGBTQ fiction.
Links
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AIDS Education Month
June 2018 is the 24th year that Philadelphia FIGHT hosted AIDS Education Month (AEM), a series of events throughout Philadelphia to increase AIDS awareness and to bring people together to find strategies to combat the virus. Over 10,000 individuals are directly reached by AEM every June. -
BiUnity of Philadelphia
The Philadelphia-area support network for bisexual people, their families, and friends. -
Equality Advocates Pennsylvania
Equality Advocates' mission is to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals in Pennsylvania through direct legal services, education, and policy reform. -
Equality Forum
Equality Forum undertakes high-impact initiatives, produces documentary films, highlights LGBT history, and presents the largest annual national and international LGBT civil rights forum. -
Giovanni's Room
Giovanni's Room, one of the oldest and more highly regarded gay and lesbian bookstores in the country, hosts many author events and is a great meeting place. -
Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Welcoming Schools Initiative
HRC Foundation's Welcoming Schools Initiative is the nation's premier professional development program providing training and resources to elementary school educators to embrace all families, create LGBTQ and gender-inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying, and support transgender and non-binary students. -
Human Rights Campaign of Greater Philadelphia Steering Committee
The Human Rights Campaign of Greater Philadelphia Steering Committee is a diverse group of volunteers working every day to ensure progress toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality. HRC Greater Philadelphia is responsible for all HRC outreach and programming for all of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey -
LGBTQ Video Game Archive
A curated/researched collection of information of LGBTQ content in digital games from 1980s-present -
LGBTQ+ Representation In Libraries
Panels discusses LGBTQ+ representation In libraries, specifically when it comes to graphic novels and comics. -
Office of LGBT Affairs, City of Philadelphia
The Office of LGBT Affairs works to foster equal working and living conditions for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people and to advocate for LGBTQ issues in all areas of City government. -
PFLAG Philadelphia
An organization for the parents, families, and friends of lesbians and gays. -
Philadelphia AIDS Law Project
The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit public-interest law firm providing free legal assistance to people living with HIV and AIDS and those affected by the epidemic. -
Philadelphia Family Pride
A nonprofit membership organization for LGBTQ+ led families in the greater Philadelphia region. -
Philadelphia FIGHT
Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers provide culturally competent comprehensive primary care, and state of the art HIV primary care to low income members of the community, along with research, consumer education, advocacy, social services and outreach to people living with HIV and those who are at high risk, including family members, communities with high rates of HIV, formerly incarcerated persons, and young people at risk; and access to the most advanced clinical research in HIV treatment and prevention. -
Philadelphia Gay News
The online version of Philadelphia's only gay newspaper. The print version comes out every Friday and is free of charge. -
Philly Gay Calendar
Find out what's happening in Philadelphia's gay community along with a listing of local venues (bars, businesses, organizations, etc.) -
Philly Pride Presents
This volunteer organization brings us three "must see" events: Pride Day in June, Outfest in October, and Winter Pride in late winter. -
Philly schools pass sweeping policy protecting transgender students
"Without debate or comments from the public, the Philadelphia School Reform Commission adopted a policy on Thursday, June 16 that immediately allows transgender students to, among other things, be referred to by their pronoun of choice; use their bathroom of choice; and go out for the athletic team of their gender choice, either boys' or girls'." -
Serving All Library Families in a Queer and Genderqueer Way
There are excellent resources for librarians who want to improve their services to LGBTQ patrons, and the American Library Association’s (ALA) Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) collects, creates, and promotes professional resources, and, importantly, administers the Stonewall Book Awards and yearly booklists that share the most current materials. -
The Attic Youth Center
The Attic Youth Center creates opportunities for LGBTQ youth to develop into healthy, independent, civic-minded adults within a safe and supportive community, and promotes the acceptance of LGBTQ youth in society. -
The Colours Organization, Inc.
The COLOURS Organization offers a safe and comfortable meeting place for sexual minorities of color in the heart of Center City Philadelphia. -
William Way Center
From social groups, networking events, and counseling and support services to art exhibitions and cultural experiences, the Center consistently strives to provide new and innovative programs for the LGBT communities of Philadelphia.
Alice Dunbar-Nelson by explore
Free Library resources in support of the Rosenbach's Digital Exhibition: "I Am an American!" The Authorship and Activism of Alice Dunbar-Nelson
LGBTQ - Romance (15 items)
Fun and fabulous recent romances that feature LGBTQ+ heroes and heroines! There's everything here to make you smile (and maybe cry) complete with a guaranteed happy ending. Just a note: a significant majority of romances with gay male protagonists are actually written by women for a straight female audience.
LGBTQ - Fiction (74 items)
A selection of genre fiction featuring LGBTQ+ characters, including fantasy, historical, horror, paranormal, mystery, thrillers, science fiction, and more!
LGBTQ Young Adult Books (159 items)
Books featuring LGBTQ protagonists within YA fiction that is diverse and accessible to all readers, no matter what their sexual orientation or gender identity may be.
LGBTQ Middle Grade Books (31 items)
Books featuring LGBTQ characters and voices within children's fiction.
LGBTQ Picture Books (62 items)
Books for children of LGBTQ parents, or for little brothers and sisters of LGBTQ teens. Revised 4/2019
LGBTQ Teens - Resources for Parents and Families (26 items)
Resources for Parents and Families of LGBTQ Teens.
LGBTQ Teens - Nonfiction (28 items)
Information on bullying, safety, coming out, and other important topics relevant to LGBTQ teens.
LGBTQ - Film and Television (58 items)
LGBTQ Documentaries, Film, and Television
LGBTQ - Stonewall Book Awards (54 items)
The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience and include the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, the Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature award and the Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award.
LGBTQ - Nonfiction (47 items)
A selection of informational nonfiction titles.
LGBTQ - Biographies and Autobiographies (17 items)
Biographies and Autobiographies of important and influential members of LGBTQ community.
Upcoming Events
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Virtual Author Visit with Lexie Bean
Friends, please join us for a virtual author visit and book talk with Lexie Bean, author of the middle grade… more details
Tue, April 27, 2021 6:00 PM
Virtual
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LGBTQ Reading Circle: The Tradition
Join a faciltiated discussion circle focused on themes of identity, anger, loss, and pride in Jericho… more details
Tue, April 27, 2021 6:30 PM
Online
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VIRTUAL - Alison Bechdel | The Secret to Superhuman Strength
PURCHASE TICKETS Alison Bechdel is the author of Fun Home , a bestselling graphic memoir that details bittersweet… more details
Wed, May 5, 2021 7:30 PM
Virtual
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Ally Up! The Definitive Guide to Building More Inclusive, Innovative, and Productive Teams
The world is changing, and the ways we understand success are changing. Companies are measured not only by their… more details
Mon, May 10, 2021 6:00 PM
Parkway Central Library
1901 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
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Blog Posts
Celebrating Trans Day of Visibility with the Field Teen Center
March 31 is International Trans Day of Visibility , which honors the trans community and celebrates transgender, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people. The annual celebration was created in 2010 by Rachel Crandall, a co-founder of…
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The Rainbow Pantry Comes Back for Seconds!
With the close of Pride Month last month, we continue to celebrate and be inspired by all of the stripes found on the Pride flag, and all of the people who are represented by this flag, throughout the year. Moved by the symbolism and…
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Close Out Pride Month with a Dress-Up Day!
Pride Month is set to wrap up this week, and we’ve had so much fun celebrating with virtual events, book lists, and history lessons all throughout June (see what we’ve been up to here on the blog !). But we’ve…
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Digital Media Spotlight: Pride Month Streaming Film Fest!
Celebrate Pride Month by attending your very own film fest of curated LGBTQIA+ cinema, streaming through our Digital Media portal ! Kanopy There are hundreds of LGBTQAI+ featured films and videos currently streaming , with categories…
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Celebrating Families During Pride Month
Families come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. These wonderful ebooks can help you celebrate the richness and diversity of families today: Baby’s First Words written by Stella Blackstone ; illustrated by Christiane Engel…
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Middle-Grade Pride Book Recommendations!
If you recall being in middle school, or are currently in middle school, you know it is a tough time. Am I wearing the right clothes? Do I have the right friends? Do I like the right stuff? Middle school is a time of…
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Summer of Wonder – Week Four: Healthy Sexuality Workshops, Queer Authors and Playwrights, Drag Queen Storytimes, and Virtual Museum Tours!
The Summer of Wonder continues as next week we are highlighting all of our great Pride month virtual programming! Also, we've updated our Summer Camp Challenge page with a video playlist for training resources and information to add…
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Queer Comics About Sports!
I never would have pegged myself as someone who wanted to read about "the sports", but there are some sweet and dramatic comics and graphic novels that have changed my mind about that in the past few years. If you too are…
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Add These Books by Young LGBQTIA Authors to Your Pride Reading List!
You can still participate in Pride Month even if you cannot go to a pride parade. There are even ways of participating that avoid pinkwashing or whitewashing of the pride movement. While PRIDE may seem like the furthest thing from your…
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Pride, Black Lives Matter, and Solidarity
by Kalela W. and Andrew N. Celebrate Pride by standing up against racism. Black lives Matter. freelibrary.org/pride Fifty years ago, in June 1970, LGBTQ+ people in cities across the United States took to the streets in protest. They…
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The Free Library of Pride Goes Virtual Throughout June 2020!
Though it’s hard to imagine LGBTQ+ Pride month in Philadelphia without being able to gather in person as a community to celebrate, the Free Library is marching online and taking the celebration virtual this year with a month of…
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Banned Books Week | LGBTQ+ Tween and Children's Edition
Another year, another Banned Books Week ! Each year the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) compiles a list of the Most Challenged Books in order to "inform the public about censorship in…
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Conversations About Queer and Trans Literature with Author Kacen Callender
In part 2 of interviews conducted around the Trans Writers, Kids, and Books event (you can find our interview with Kyle Lukoff from before the event in an earlier blog post), this time we speak with Lambda and Stonewall Award-winning…
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Conversations About Queer and Trans Literature with Picture Book Author Kyle Lukoff
We’re having a really exciting Author Event on the evening of Thursday, July 25 where the topics of discussion will be Trans Writers, Kids, and Books ! Lambda and Stonewall Award-winning author Kacen Callender ( Hurricane Child ,…
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Happy Birthday, Frida!
Independence Day isn’t the only famous birthday this week: on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, which is now part of Mexico City, the revolutionary spirit Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon was born in a blue house. If you…
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You Can’t Kill a Poet
You Can’t Kill a Poet is a Philadelphia-based reading series for LGBTQ readers which just celebrated its 5th anniversary! The series is held at different locations throughout the city, including Tattooed Mom , South…
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New LGBTQ+ Children's Books for 2019!
2019 has been a great year for children’s books so far. We are seeing so many own-voices books, although there is still a long way to go. Some of my favorites from the first half of the year have a common theme—LGBTQ+. I…
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The Poetry to the People Tour Is Coming to Philadelphia!
At the Free Library of Philadelphia, we know firsthand that access to books and other media can change lives. The Poetry to the People tour is dedicated to increasing such access—so we’re obviously thrilled to be one of the…
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Don’t Be a Drag, Just Be a Queen: Exploring and Celebrating Gender Roleplay in Young Adult Books!
Welcome to another Pride Month, friends! After this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race , I’m sure we're all ready to keep the amazing times rolling with more exploration of performative gender with some rollicking young adult…
