![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-71-KQED.jpg\")
A person reads a newspaper at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute Library in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.\u00a0(Nina Glick\/KQED)<\/p>\nAs a book collector in the early 2000s, Randall Tarpey-Schwed and his husband read bedtime stories endlessly to their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe read all kinds of children\u2019s books to our kids,\u201d Tarpey-Schwed of Mill Valley said. \u201cBut I wanted to make sure that some of those showed their kind of family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarpey-Schwed\u2019s passion had taught him to go searching for deep cuts like these: specifically, books for young people that featured LGBTQ families and characters. He began scouring used book websites and other corners of the internet for titles to bring back to his family \u2014 something that he said took \u201ca lot of persistence.\u201d<\/p>\n
But his efforts paid off when these books became an instant hit with his daughters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d ask them, \u2018What do you want to read tonight?\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cSometimes they would say, \u2018Oh, I want a Papa and Daddy book.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
A person reads a newspaper at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute Library in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.\u00a0(Nina Glick\/KQED)<\/p>\n
Exploring his growing collection, Tarpey-Schwed saw how the genre evolved \u2014 especially when looking at the earlier titles from as early as the 1960s. While some of the books were undoubtedly dated, they still communicated the values he and his husband felt were important: acceptance, community and love.<\/p>\n
Over the years, he eventually amassed over 200 books, magazines and other printed materials that featured queer characters, themes and other diverse representations of families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As his daughters grew up, Tarpey-Schwed carefully packed the books away. But he always wanted to find a home for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, through the bibliophile circles of San Francisco, Myles Cooper, a library manager at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute \u2014 a beautiful Beaux-Arts-style<\/a> historical library in downtown San Francisco \u2014 found out about Tarpey-Schwed\u2019s archive of books.\u00a0<\/p>\n Which is how Tarpey-Schwed handed off his years-long work in November last year \u2014 and how the Mechanics Institute became the new, public home of what they call one of the most thorough catalogs of early LGBTQ children\u2019s literature in the United States, dating from 1969.\u00a0<\/p>\n Scores of books which for years were stored in Tarpey-Schwed\u2019s home can now be viewed in person by appointment or online<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe Mechanics\u2019 Institute was willing to make a commitment to preserve it as a collection, rather than, say, putting all the books into circulation,\u201d Tarpey-Schwed said. \u201cI felt this was more important to keep it together. Because, in its whole, it shows the history of the genre.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\u2018It\u2019s adorable \u2014 and it\u2019s true\u2019\n<\/p>\n The Mechanics\u2019 Institute dates back to the 19th century, years before<\/a> the first branch of the San Francisco Public Library<\/a> opened its doors. During its initial years<\/a>, the center served as a place for people to learn vocational skills at the tail end of the Gold Rush.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, the Mechanics\u2019 Institute is a home for the Bay Area\u2019s chess players, cultural events and special collections<\/a> for researchers to dive into. And a major reason, Cooper explained, why the Mechanics\u2019 Institute took in Tarpey-Schwed\u2019s \u201cwonderful addition\u201d was to \u201cwiden, broaden and tell more stories that relate to people here and that are important to people today.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children\u2019s Book Collection has some contemporary examples, what makes it unique are the earlier titles Tarpey-Schwed discovered\u00a0 \u2014 many of which came from small independent presses, are out of print or were self-published.<\/p>\n Like \u201cHeather Has Two Mommies\u201d<\/a> by Lesl\u00e9a Newman and illustrated by Diana Souza, self-published in 1989 before being picked up a year earlier by Alyson Wonderland<\/a> \u2014\u00a0 a then-brand-new LGBTQ children\u2019s fiction publisher.\u00a0<\/p>\n The collection, while telling the story of LGBTQ families, \u201calso tells the stories of publishing,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cPublishers that dared to print some of those first stories that had representation of alternative families.\u201d<\/p>\n Tarpey-Schwed\u2019s collection traces how the genre was also impacted by real-life events, like legal developments around marriage equality and family law \u2014 or the lack of them. For instance, some of the earlier works Tarpey-Schwed found written before marriage equality<\/a> tried to grapple with what to call the union of two parents, or a new partner of a parent.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo, it could be \u2018roommate\u2019 \u2014 which I think is a hilarious euphemism,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s one story in which a little girl is portrayed as living with her mother and her godmother. But when you look at the iconography of the image, it\u2019s clearly a lesbian couple.\u201d<\/p>\n A title that became dear to Tarpey-Schwed\u2019s own family is \u201cIn Our Mother\u2019s House,\u201d<\/a> by Patricia Polacco, which follows two moms throwing a block party in Berkeley. At one point in the book, a neighbor storms in and snaps at the family, scaring the kids.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then \u2014 this is going to choke me up talking about it \u2014 what happens is that every one of the neighbors, one by one, comes up and gives the family a hug,\u201d Tarpey-Schwed said. \u201cEven though it\u2019s a complicated and nuanced story, at the end, it cuts right through to: \u2018But your family is loved.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s maybe an assumption out there that writing a children\u2019s book is like writing a dumbed-down version of an adult book, and that\u2019s completely wrong,\u201d he said. \u201cChildren\u2019s books are a genre of their own, and a really good children\u2019s book is a good book, period.\u201d<\/p>\n For Cooper, \u201cAnd Tango Makes Three\u201d<\/a> has a special place in his heart, bringing back memories of reading it to elementary-school students upon its first release in 2005. Written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell and illustrated by Henry Cole, the famous book is based on a true story<\/a> of two penguins in a New York zoo who raise a baby chick named Tango after zoo keepers notice their desire for a family \u2014 evidenced by their attempts to \u201chatch\u201d a rock.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can you argue with that?\u201d Cooper said. \u201cIt\u2019s adorable, and it\u2019s true.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\u2018A broad censorship effect\u2019\n<\/p>\n Nonetheless, \u201cAnd Tango Makes Three\u201d \u2014 like many of the books in the Tarpey-Schwed collection \u2014 has been a target of coordinated campaigns nationwide<\/a> that aim to pull diverse books off the shelves of public libraries and schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a very fragile area of collections,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cThey\u2019re being banned, even in public libraries in California<\/a>. It really is an area that we need to collect and keep and maintain just for our own history.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2016, the American Library Association tracked 208 unique titles<\/a> that were challenged in public schools and libraries in the United States. In 2025, that number shot up to over 4,200 titles \u2014 and nearly 40% of those titles featured LGBTQ characters or characters of color.\u00a0<\/p>\n The ALA also found that almost all book challenges in 2025 were initiated by pressure groups, government officials and decision-makers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Along with these challenges, various laws and policies<\/a> \u2014 some carrying serious consequences for offenders \u2014 can be found across the country that are attempting to restrict materials based on broad definitions like being \u201charmful to minors.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The wave of censorship seen in the 2020s arose after the initial stages of the pandemic, often involving the same people involved with the anti-masking movement, like Moms for Liberty<\/a>, said Sarah Lamdan, the executive director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association.<\/p>\n California does have some protections against these campaigns<\/a>. In 2024, the state adopted a Freedom to Read Act<\/a>, which states that public libraries cannot exclude materials from their shelves based on content like race, gender and sexual orientation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a cure-all. It doesn\u2019t mean that, \u2018Okay, there\u2019s no more censorship in California,\u2019\u201d the American Library Association\u2019s Lamdan said. Rather, \u201cthere\u2019s a tool to push back on censorship attempts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But in many other parts of the country, the book banning movement has only strengthened \u2014 especially after the Supreme Court\u2019s Mahmoud v. Taylor<\/a> ruling in 2025 that a group of parents\u2019 freedom of religion was violated when they couldn\u2019t opt their children out of a class that included LGBTQ storybooks.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is so stunning about that decision is that it has this potential to have such a broad censorship effect on the very books that we know can have such a powerful positive impact for many young children,\u201d Friedman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\u2018Able to see themselves\u2019\n<\/p>\n Libraries are intended to meet the needs of their communities, Lamdan said\u00a0 \u2014 and are supposed to have an array of books that touch every person.<\/p>\n For her, the Mechanics\u2019 Institute\u2019s motives for acquiring Tarpey-Schwed\u2019s collection show \u201cexactly why censorship in libraries is so harmful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody deserves to see themselves reflected in stories and to see themselves reflected in library collections,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Making sure children feel seen is a major motivating factor for the works written by Half Moon Bay author Cynthia Chin-Lee \u2014 compounded by her experience as an Asian American growing up in the 60s with little to no representation in the stories around her.<\/p>\n Her picture book \u201cOperation Marriage\u201d<\/a>, which features in the Mechanics\u2019 Institute Tarpey-Schwed collection, follows Alex and her younger brother Nicky, who are trying to convince their moms to get married before the passage of Proposition 8<\/a> \u2014 the California law that banned same-sex marriage in 2008, which was ultimately struck down a few years later.<\/p>\n Chin-Lee said it\u2019s based on a true story about a family who attended her church in Palo Alto. In fact, the making of the picture book was a community effort: People from the church even posed for pictures, which were then illustrated by local artist Lea Lyon, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But in 2023 \u2014 well after the legalization of gay marriage nationwide \u2014 \u201cOperation Marriage\u201d was challenged by a Midland, Texas county commissioner<\/a> and a group of volunteers<\/a> who wanted to remove it from the shelves of the children\u2019s section of a public library and into the adults\u2019 section.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have freedom of speech, freedom of writing, and the kids that are LGBTQ especially need our support,\u201d she said. \u201cThey need to be able to see themselves in books.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n These books also play a role for parents. The Hoffmans\u2019 first book about Jacob \u2014 \u201cJacob\u2019s New Dress\u201d \u2014 depicted a little boy who wants to wear a dress. It was based on their son Sam, who, as a kid, \u201cliked all things that were pink and girly and sparkly\u201d and asked to wear a dress to school when he was four, Sarah Hoffman said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was when we faced our first issue as parents, because we wanted to let Sam be himself,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd clearly this was coming from him, because nothing around him said little boys should like these things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n While they were the only parents in Sam\u2019s school navigating this, they connected with other parents online all over the world who also had gender non-conforming kids<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone felt alone until they found this group, and suddenly we had community,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cWe realized that we all face the same kinds of issues.\u201d<\/p>\n The collection is already acting as a historical reference \u2014 and source of inspiration \u2014 for the field\u2019s writers too. Like San Francisco children\u2019s book author Marcus Ewert, the writer of \u201c10,000 Dresses<\/a>,\u201d about a young trans girl named Bailey. For Ewert, the archive functions as a trove of the genre\u2019s pioneers.<\/p>\n \u201cOh my God, I wanna spend hours and hours and hours just looking at all these things,\u201d he said. \u201cAs little time capsules, as little pieces of history.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\u2018Profound effects\u2019\n<\/p>\n Along with being a resource for early examples of LGBTQ children\u2019s literature, Tarpey-Schwed said he hoped that more titles and examples will continue to be added to the collection.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-81-KQED.jpg\")
Myles Cooper, library manager and archivist is photographed at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.\u00a0(Nina Glick\/KQED)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-79-KQED.jpg\")
Myles Cooper, library manager and archivist is photographed at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-8-KQED.jpg\")
Myles Cooper, library manager and archivist at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute, flips through a box of books from the institute\u2019s Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children\u2019s Book Collection, at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-44-KQED.jpg\")
Myles Cooper, library manager and archivist at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute, flips through Asha\u2019s Mums, a book published in 1990, which is a part of the institute\u2019s Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children\u2019s Book Collection, at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.\u00a0(Nina Glick\/KQED)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-67-KQED.jpg\")
The Mechanics\u2019 Institute Library in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.\u00a0(Nina Glick\/KQED)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-25-KQED.jpg\")
Myles Cooper, library manager and archivist at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute, flips through the pages of The Generous Jefferson Bartleby Jones, a book published in 1991, which is a part of the institute\u2019s Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children\u2019s Book Collection, at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-41-KQED.jpg\")
Myles Cooper, library manager and archivist at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute, flips through Asha\u2019s Mums, a book published in 1990, which is a part of the institute\u2019s Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children\u2019s Book Collection, at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-31-KQED.jpg\")
Myles Cooper, library manager and archivist at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute, flips through the pages of Daddy\u2019s Roommate, a book published in 1990, which is a part of the institute\u2019s Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children\u2019s Book Collection, at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.\u00a0(Nina Glick\/KQED)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-12-KQED.jpg\")
The authors of the 1979 children\u2019s book When Megan Went Away dedicate the book to children of lesbian mothers. The book is a part of the institute\u2019s Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children\u2019s Book Collection.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260814-LGBTBookArchive-NG-18-KQED.jpg\")
Myles Cooper, library manager and archivist at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute, flips through the pages of a 1989 self-published version Heather Has Two Mommies, which is a part of the institute\u2019s Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children\u2019s Book Collection, at the Mechanics\u2019 Institute in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 2026.<\/p>\n