The James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center is dedicated to collecting, preserving and providing free access to materials that reflect the diverse experiences of LGBTQIA+ communities. While the collection emphasizes the San Francisco Bay Area, it also includes national and international resources. Most materials are in English. For a fuller understanding of the Center’s scope, please consult the SFPL Collection Development Plan.
Circulating materials are located in the Hormel Center Reading Room on the 3rd floor of the Main Library, with reference titles available at the 3rd Floor Page Desk. Archival materials can be accessed through the San Francisco History Center on the 6th floor or online at the SF Digital Collections. Additional LGBTQIA materials are available throughout all SFPL locations.
The Hormel Center collects materials in a variety of formats, which are briefly outlined in the sections below.
Books
With over 11,000 titles, the Hormel Center's book collection offers contemporary and historical titles for all kinds of readers. With particular strength in art, biography, memoir, social sciences and poetry, the collection contains circulating and library-use only titles. Most of the collection is non-fiction. Check out the Main Library's 1st floor for a robust LGBTQIA+ fiction collection.
Highlights within the book collection include:
- New titles added monthly
- The pulp paperback fiction collection, historically important in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s
- The Barbara Grier and Donna McBride Collection, which consists largely of lesbian-themed fiction, with some gay male fiction included
Top book picks from the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center
Magazines, Journals, and Zines
LGBTQIA-related periodicals and serials can be found by searching the Library's online catalog. They are for in-house use in a variety of locations throughout the Main Library:
- James C. Hormel Center Reading Room, 3rd floor: Read current issues of magazines and journals, readily available and for in-library use only.
- Magazine and Newspaper Center, 5th floor: Find back issues of magazines and journals in the 5th floor Reading Room or by request at the 5th floor Page Desk.
- San Francisco History Center, 6th floor: Some archived titles or issues can be requested here at the service desk, such as LGBTQIA zines, which are part of the Book Arts & Special Collections' Little Maga/Zine Collection.
Indexes are a useful way to search for LGBTQIA-related content across titles, by topic. These multi-volume paper indexes are on the 3rd floor in General Collections:
Digital magazines and articles are accessible either on library computers or remotely with your library card and PIN. Good sources for LGBTQIA-related content include the following:
Audiovisual Materials
The Hormel Center focuses on collecting documentaries, feature films, comedy, musical recordings and other audiovisual works of special significance to the LGBTQIA+ community. Search the catalog for the Hormel Center’s audiovisual collections.
These materials are available for in-library viewing and listening. Special emphasis is placed on films distributed by Frameline and on works by Bay Area filmmakers. LGBTQIA+ audiovisual materials are also widely available throughout SFPL, including a broad selection of streaming titles on Kanopy.
DVDs and CDs may be accessed for in-library use at the San Francisco History Center on the 6th floor of the Main Library. Tape-based media, such as cassettes and VHS tapes, are at risk of deterioration and therefore are not available for viewing at this time.
Archives
The Center collects unpublished materials such as personal papers, organizational records, flyers and other important documents chronicling the history of the LGBTQIA communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Find out more about LGBTQIA Archives.
Photographs
View digitized photographs, manuscripts, documents and other primary source materials from the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center on the SF Digital Collections. Access print and analog collections in the physical archives at the San Francisco History Center, Main Library.