Little Queer Library
Free and horizontal sharing of information for all!
The LQL is an independent, curated collection of radical literature available to anyone curious (or brave!) enough to stop and browse. This project serves to encourage the horizontal and free sharing of information and to make radical ideas accessible to everyone. It is founded on the ideas that art and literature have the power to change minds and history, that free access to information is a human right, and that empathetic exposure to different perspectives can build solidarity and connection.
What materials are included in the LQL?
If the current administration doesn’t want you to read it, the LQL has it. This collection is one answer to the book bans and censorship of marginalized voices that we are seeing nationwide. The LQL primarily works to center Queer and Trans voices, but you can find content on a variety of topics made by a diverse range of authors. The collection ranges from a perzine in the form of a mix CD to textbooks from a college gender studies program– and everything in between! The LQL includes self-published zines and formally-published books, and is always expanding. There are graphic novels, nonfiction textbooks, chapbooks, zines, novels, and more!
A current list of materials is available in our working database.
How do you obtain materials?
All content in the LQL collection has been obtained either through the purchase of the material (via indie or small-business avenues whenever possible) or through personal donations or equitable trades. All artists and authors are credited when applicable in the official LQL database. Materials are always obtained, cataloged, and shared following the ethical standards of zine librarianship, found here. The goal of this project is to provide easy access to radical ideas, so new voices (especially from folks within marginalized communities) and new perspectives are always being sought out for inclusion in the collection.
If you have a zine or book that you’d like to see added to the LQL, please reach out!
How can I engage with and support the LQL?
The LQL is, at present, a mobile pop-up installation, one that will happily come to you wherever you are! Request a sensory- and introvert-friendly “Queer Quiet Reading” session and flip through a smaller, curated selection of titles chosen specifically for you and your group’s particular curiosities. Invite the (trans)cribe for a DIY zine workshop and include a LQL station for examples and inspiration. View the full collection in our database and suggest further additions, or make a donation in the form of a physical book or the cost of new titles!
Supporting the LQL is supporting the free sharing of information, the uplifting of marginalized perspectives, and the ability to push back on systems that limit our freedoms by limiting what we can know. Even just sharing this project with your friends and family means the world and is a huge support. You are also welcome to send us new titles or sponsor the purchase of a new book/zine, donate your own self-published materials, or request a LQL pop-up for your next event!
Stay curious, and keep reading banned books.