SONO MOTOYAMA, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ; Little Queer Libraries offer banned books across the Pittsburgh region
The Pittsburgh Equality Center has stocked free libraries at community spaces in Pittsburgh and three counties
"Inspired by those colorful outdoor boxes that invite you to take books or small objects for free, the Pittsburgh Equality Center has launched a network of Little Queer Libraries in time for Pride Month.
“I saw all these little free libraries out there in people’s lawns and throughout neighborhoods, and I thought, well, we could put LGBTQ+ literature in those,” said Ray Sidney-Smith, president and board chair of the Pittsburgh Equality Center.
In keeping with the nonprofit’s mission to advocate and support the LGBTQ+ community, it is supplying a selection of adult, young adult and children’s literature in accessible sites around the region. Borrowers can take the books and then return them when they’re done.
Community members can also donate books by placing them inside the libraries or by contacting the center.
The center has made a point of stocking the boxes with titles on the list of books banned by public schools and libraries compiled by the writers organization PEN America.
“We are saddened that our rights are under attack in a lot of ways, and the LGBTQ+ community deserves the ability to access books [that reflect] all of our identities readily and accessibly,” Sidney-Smith said...
The first five libraries — out of projected 10 — are at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg; Penn Hills Library; Garfield’s Soft Spot Café; SoulLumination, a Canonsburg spiritual and wellness center; and Proud Haven, a North Side organization serving LGBTQIA+ youth.
Each library holds 10-20 books and the first five were designed and painted by volunteers."
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