About the Library

Our mandate is to acquire and provide public access to materials by and about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer community (LGBTQ). Located in the D.B. Weldon Library at the University of Western Ontario, London ON, Canada. The Pride Library welcomes all.

Collection Highlights

Hudler Archive Highlights

Volunteer at the Pride Library

Volunteers are very important to the library's success. They keep the doors open, assist visitors in finding materials, and work on various special projects. Find out more.

News

Pride Library Outreach Initiatives, Fall 2016

01-08-2017

Our volunteers have been busy this semester, participating in several outreach initiatives on campus in addition to regular operations.

At the end of September, the Pride Library was invited to take part in Bash Outside the Stacks hosted by Western Libraries. The event was aimed at connecting with undergrads and letting them know what we have to offer, since so few incoming students know about the depth and breadth of services at Western.

Cameron, Danya, and Victor spent the afternoon chatting with students and faculty about the Pride Library's collection, events, and space. Thanks to everyone who came to the event!

Pictured: volunteers Cameron, Danya, and Victor.

Pictured: volunteers Cameron, Danya, and Victor.

Pride Library volunteers were also invited to attend the Feminist Mixer hosted by the Women's Studies Student Collective at Western. It was a fun night of socializing, performances, and outreach from intersectional, feminist groups on campus. The Pride Library is proud to have been invited! Many thanks to our volunteers Shuting, Cameron, Danya, Krisandra, and Brianna for helping out at the Feminist Mixer and spreading the word about the Pride Library.

Pictured: volunteers Danya, Cameron, and Shuting.

Pictured: volunteers Danya, Cameron, and Shuting.

Stay tuned for other events and outreach initiatives coming soon from the Pride Library. We couldn’t do it without our wonderful volunteers!

Promo Ad for the Pride Library at Radio Western

03-07-2016

Photograph of Recording Studio for Pride Library Promo Ad

Three of our awesome volunteers, Devina, Svitlana and Daron, created a promo ad for the Pride Library at Radio Western’s recording studio. Big thanks to Andrew Barton at Radio Western for producing this promo for us. Have a listen!

The Pride Library Featured in Western Gazette Article

03-01-2016

The Pride Library was featured Feb 24, 2016 in the the official student newspaper of Western University, the Gazette. Below is an excerpt and link from the article Pride Library offers varied space on campus:

Located in the back of Weldon Library’s main floor, the Pride Library is a space on campus for students, queer or otherwise, who are looking for a safe space.

As the only library of its kind at a Canadian university, this unique room hosts a variety of queer literature including fiction, non-fiction and graphica. Started in 1997 by comparative literature associate professor James Miller, the library has been building its varied collection ever since.

“It initially started when Dr. Miller was studying some queer studies courses,” says Rebecca Kasperavicius, a master’s student in library and information science and Pride Library volunteer. “He went to go get some literature from the library but they didn't have those resources, so he started building his own collection.”

Material located on the shelves is open to circulation for the public and is registered with Weldon’s call number system. A majority of this literature comes from public donation, providing a wide array of subjects within queer topics.

Some of the donated material is rare, or simply could not be restored if it were damaged or lost. This literature is kept encased at the back of the Pride Library and can be accessed in-house with permission and assistance.

Broken Pencil presents: QUEER GRAPHICA launch at the Pride Library

04-03-2013

Thursday, April 11, 2013
4:00 – 5:00pm
Pride Library, D.W. Weldon Library, room 107 (main floor, off Spenser Reading Room). Map and directions - click here.
RSVP: on Facebook

The Pride Library is pleased to announce the launch of its latest special collection: QUEER GRAPHICA.

Comprised of comics, zines, graphic novels, and artists’ bookworks, QUEER GRAPHICA reflects all the colours in the LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bi/Trans) rainbow in formats that creatively combine words with images.  Rather than telling a single “official” story of the changing role of queer folk through history, the collection provides exciting access to socially diverse, politically engaging, culturally alternative, and often highly personal narratives of sexual/gender identity formation and queer community development across the globe.    

Local donors Mike Niederman and Joan Brennan will be honoured at the launch for their pioneering role in producing and collecting queer zines in Canada.  Thanks to their generous contributions over the period 1997 to 2013, the collection has grown to encompass everything from sensitive coming-out narratives to raunchy celebrations of leather culture, from affectionate satires of queer family dynamics to explosive manifestos from the daring fringes of kink.

Titles include: Curbside, Kake, Dyke to Watch Out For, Straight to Hell, J.D.s, Queer Enough, Hothead Paisan, Hoax, Liliane, Curbside, Invincible Summer, The Life and Times of Butch Dykes, He, Her, Him: Free, Fer, Frim, Gay Comix, Naked Justice, Naughty Bits, Desert Peach, Spit and Passion, and Keven Keller.

Artists represented in the collection include: Tom of Finland, P. Craig Russel, Eloisa Aquino, Bruce LaBruce & GB Jones, Caroline Paquita, Nicole J. Georges, Howard Cruse, Diane DiMassa, Mary Wings, Cristy C. Road, Robnoxious, Alison Bechdel, Carrie McNinch, Robert Kirby, Gengoroh Tegame, and Ellen Forney.

The stylish new space created for QUEER GRAPHICA includes original design elements by Toronto graphic artist Annyen Lam (signage) and London ébéniste Elias Polizoes (cabinetry).

Queer Graphica Launch Poster Thumbnail

The Royal Imperial Sovereign Court of London and Southwestern Ontario Presents a Donation of $4,600

10-04-2012

Regent Emperor 2 Stan MacKenzie-Storm and Her Royal Imperial Soverign Majesty Empress 2 Madison Hart of the Royal Imperial Sovereign Court of London and Southwestern Ontario presented a generous donation of $4,600 to Dr. James Miller at the September 29th Investiture.  The funds from this donation will be directed to archival projects concerning drag culture, costuming and impersonation, and ball culture.

The first photograph below pictures Emperor Stan, Dr. Miller, and Empress Madison. Dr. Miller is holding the children's book The Harvey Milk Story by Kari Krakow, illustrated by David Gardner, donated to the Pride Library by Emperor Jack from the Royal Imperial Sovereign Court of New York.

Donate to the Pride Library

The library's existence and continuing work is made possible by the generosity of our supporters from Canada and around the world. Click here to make a cash gift using Western University's secure online donation page or contact our director Professor Miller at jmiller@uwo.ca or (519) 661-2111 x85828 for more information.

The Pride Library also relies on donations of books, materials, and volunteers' time to build its collections. Click here for details.

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