The Educational and Programming Departments set out to contextualize the Stonewall riots for staff and patrons. We elevated and celebrated often marginalized voices, asking ourselves, what does progress look like? For staff, we focused on cultural competency trainings to better serve LGBTQ community members. For patrons, staff created programming to honor LGBTQ history and welcome those new to the conversation. These programs included a queer and gender non-binary YA author panel and a “Trans Brilliance Now” talk.

NYPL highlighted the voices and perspectives of queer and trans folk in every aspect of the Stonewall50 Celebration, creating a brave space for patrons to access their collective history through authentic and inclusive programming. NYPL branch staff honed their cultural toolkits to offer educational and engaging booklists, events, programs and outreach with an explicit focus on the experiences of queer people of color. Programs included “Politics and Poetry: Legacies of Audre Lorde” and a Queer Black Film series.

In over 100 programs for youth and adults, the library fused our premier LGBTQ collections with current conversations to engage thousands of New Yorkers and celebrate LGBTQ history. Unparalleled collaboration between departments ensured that staff became subject experts and leveraged research collections in programming. The library hosted celebratory events including our 14th annual Anti-Prom, a queer prom for teens and a Pride-themed Library After Hours, an innovative Stonewall celebration.