Your public library is here to connect you with books, learning experiences, events, and online resources that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in June and all year long. On this page, you can:
- Browse: Curated title suggestions for all ages.
- Attend: Upcoming events.
- View: A special display in the Main Library Idea Box.
- Test: Your Pride flag knowledge with a virtual tutorial.
- Watch: A video just for early learners.
- Explore: Online resources for self-paced learning (with your Oak Park card and PIN).
- Discover: Rainbow Services from your public library.
Browse titles we suggest
Just for kids
- Check out librarian-curated lists featuring LGBTQ+ creators and stories »
- More books for kids, suggested by Rainbow Services Librarian Hal »
From your digital library
Ebooks, audiobooks & movies
Magazines
*The Advocate is now part of Out magazine (new standalone issues of The Advocate are no longer available).
Join us for upcoming events
For adults
Wednesday Matinee Film Series: Pride
Wednesday, June 12, 1 pm, Main Library
An unlikely friendship is forged between a small community of striking miners in Wales and a team of London-based gay-and-lesbian activists who help fight their cause. With no end to the strike in sight, the urban activists venture into the countryside to deliver their donation in person, and find they have more in common with the people of this struggling community than anyone on either side could have expected. Register now »
For adults & teens
Celebrate Pride: Digital Collage & Poster Design
Wednesday, June 5, 5:30 pm, Main Library
Want to show your LGBTQIA2S+ pride? Join us for a demonstration of Adobe Photoshop Elements to create a digital collage. Once your collage is designed, we'll show you how to submit your design as a poster print request. This is a drop-in program with 10 available laptops; registration is not required. Personal laptops and other design software also welcome! This is a space to gather and be creative. Library staff will print your collage within a week of the program, and attendees will be notified when their print is ready for pick-up. For ages 14+. Register now »
For kids
Pride Bingo
June 1-30, Main Library
All month long, the Oak Park Public Library and the Collaboration for Early Childhood invite families to participate in PRIDE BINGO! Stop by the service desk in the Main Library’s Children’s Services area to pick up a bingo card and read the books celebrating Pride with your children. Read at least three of the books during your library visit—you can check them out too—and return to the service desk for a prize!
Pride Month Shake, Rattle & Read
Friday, June 14, 10:30 am, Dole Branch
Wednesday, June 26, 10 am, Scoville Park, 800 Lake St.
This class will celebrate Pride Month! Get ready to sing, dance, and listen to great stories! An energetic program designed for children up to age 5, with caregivers. Register now »
Grandad's Pride Parade & Craft
Monday, June 17, 11 am, Main Library
Join us for a story, parade, and craft to celebrate Pride month! In Grandad’s Pride by Harry Woodgate, Grandad and Milly help their town organize a Pride parade. Beginning at the plaza outside the Main Library, we’ll go on a journey with Grandad and Milly around Scoville Park. As we read their story, we’ll collect ribbons to make rainbow wands, and then we’ll parade together back to the library for a treat! Best for ages 3+ with a caregiver. Register now »
The Rainbow Around Us
Friday, June 28, 10 am, Main Library
Black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple! Every color in the Pride flag has a different meaning. Join us for a seek-and-find stroll. Beginning at the plaza outside the Main Library and wandering through Scoville Park, we’ll read Our Rainbow to learn about each color represented in the Pride flag, and then search for hidden scarves that match them. At the end, every seek-and-find adventurer will get to take home a prize. Best for ages 2+ with a caregiver. Register now »
View a special display in the Main Library Idea Box
Check out our flags and learn what each one means in the windows of the Main Library Idea Box June 16-30. We'll also have book recommendations that celebrate LGBTQ+ history. Do you know which identities the flags in our display represent?
Test your Pride flag knowledge
Do you know what all the colors in the Pride flag mean? Do you know which identities the flags in our display represent? Test your knowledge with our virtual trivia game; click the play button to get started!
Watch a Pride flag video for early learners
Grab your crayons, markers, or colored pencils, because it's time to create our own Pride flags! Did you know that the flag hasn't always looked the same? We'll draw an inclusive Philadelphia Pride flag today and talk about what each color means. Where will you display yours?
Explore online resources
Get access to subscription-based resources that Google can’t offer, with your Oak Park card and PIN:
- Gale in Context: Biography: Explore authoritative biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study, including a collection of biographies on notable LGBTQ+ figures. To start your search, choose Browse People and then select LGBTQIA+ Figures from the dropdown.
- Novelist Plus: Find book reviews, annotations, readalikes, discussion guides, and book lists for fiction and nonfiction readers. Use the advanced search option to find titles by LGBTQ+ authors by selecting LGBTQIA under Authors Cultural Identity.
- Transgender Resource Collection: A unique collection to serve transgender people and everyone seeking information, including employers, medical providers, allies, friends, and family.
