For queer literature lovers, there’s good news. The Queer Liberation Library is open and ready to share LGBTQ+-focused content nationwide. Started by librarian Kieran Hickey and a group of like-minded friends, including fellow librarian Amber Dierking, the QLL debuted in the fall of 2023 and has already captured media attention and a long list of members.
While working from home in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital collections quickly became a vital resource.
“During the pandemic, I was working in digital libraries as they became significant,” said Hickey. “Eventually, I combined these experiences to envision an online digital queer library accessible to the whole country.”
After the idea struck Hickey in the middle of the night, leading to several voice memos shared with another member of what would become the steering committee, Hickey realized he had something special.
“The concept felt like a simple equation that surprisingly hadn’t been explored much before,” said Hickey.
Both Dierking and Hickey had spent time working at Out on the Shelves library in Vancouver, British Columbia, which Dierking said gave them insight into the landscape of queer libraries across North America. While many have strong physical community presences, the Queer Liberation Library team realized that an entirely digital queer library was the way to go.
“We saw an opportunity to create something without geographic constraints, making it timely and accessible nationwide, especially in places with severe reading material restrictions,” said Dierking. “Our network, including people in nonprofits, social media and librarianship, played a crucial role in bringing this vision to life.”
While it’s a dream for the QLL team to work on the library full-time, right now, it’s a labor of love made possible by a dedicated group of volunteers, including Hickey and Dierking.
“Our priority is making the resource accessible rather than personal compensation,” said Hickey.
Currently, the collection contains around 850 ebooks and audiobooks, focusing on genre diversity and patron interest consideration.
“We emphasize purchasing books from living authors and addressing demographic imbalances inherent in publishing,” said Dierking. “Our goal is broad representation, reflecting our community’s diversity.”
To borrow from QLL, one must first apply for its free membership. After membership is accepted, members can download the Libby app or request to borrow books and audio products on the website. The QLL showcases which books are immediately available to borrow; however, like any library, some books have a waitlist. Digital licenses cost money, and members can help by donating to the library.
“Donations are the most direct way to support us, allowing us to expand our collection and cover operational costs,” said Hickey. “Engaging with public libraries for faster access to materials also supports us indirectly by demonstrating demand for queer materials, aiding their acquisition efforts.”
Dierking suggests utilizing apps like Libby, which allow adding multiple library cards, helping patrons navigate shorter wait times across different libraries.
“Recurring donations are particularly helpful for our stability and future planning,” said Dierking.
For authors who want to offer up their works, it’s a little more complicated.
“While we appreciate offers from authors to donate their works, our process involves purchasing books through specific channels to comply with licensing requirements,” said Hickey. “Financial donations from authors interested in seeing their books in our collection are a more feasible approach. We aim to manage donations and acquisitions efficiently despite our limited bandwidth.”
For many members, the QLL will allow access to books that may otherwise be challenging, whether a member is not out or in a difficult home situation. Inspired by sites like Trevor Project, the QLL also has a quick exit feature.
“We thought it was very important to ensure that if someone was in a space where they had found themselves on our website and were looking at it and suddenly found themselves in a situation where they did not feel comfortable with another person in the room seeing what website they were looking at and we wanted to make it easy and subtle for them to protect themselves,” said Hickey. “That is the most important thing, as this is a queer library that is queer and proud, but not everyone is necessarily able to be proud and loud and visible.”
Clicking on the quick exit feature instantly takes members to a popular and innocuous website: The Weather Channel.
“No one would look at your web browser and see that you’re on The Weather Channel and question it,” said Hickey.
To join the Queer Liberation Library, check out the Membership Policy and How to Become a Member. To support the Queer Liberation Library, visit its Donate page.