Throughout June, the Bellingham Public Library is celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month with a full range of staff-curated reading recommendations spanning books, DVDs, and music for all ages. Whether you stop by the main branch on Central Avenue, the Fairhaven branch, or browse from home, the library has put together an extensive collection of materials that reflect the histories, stories, and voices of the LGBTQ+ community.
The Bellingham Public Library has long served as one of the community's most visible supporters of Pride Month, hosting displays and booklists that go well beyond token visibility. This year, public services clerk Arbor offered two personal picks. For adults, Arbor recommends "It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror," edited by Joe Vallese, described as a wonderful variety of personal essays for fans of horror film, memoir, and film analysis. For young adults and older readers, Arbor suggests "Devils Like Us" by Lin Thompson, a story featuring pirates, found family on a ship, and an occult mystery. The recommendations give a sense of the breadth the library is aiming for: genre fiction, essay collections, and books that serve readers who might not typically gravitate toward traditional Pride displays.
The full booklists, which are available on the BPL website, include adult nonfiction, adult fiction, young adult titles, and children's books. The adult nonfiction list includes recent titles about LGBTQIA life in the United States, drawing from biographies, memoirs, and policy-focused works. The adult fiction list covers novels by LGBTQ authors as well as books featuring LGBTQ characters and relationships. The children's and young adult lists are curated to be age-appropriate while providing genuine representation.
Library staff are available at all BPL locations to help patrons find materials on the shelf or request titles from other branches through the county's lending network. The library system serves patrons across Bellingham and Whatcom County and maintains reciprocal borrowing agreements with other regional library systems. If a specific title is not available locally, interlibrary loan can often fill the gap within a week or two.
For readers who prefer to browse online before visiting in person, the library's digital catalog through BiblioCommons allows you to place holds, read reviews, and see what is currently checked out versus available. Bellingham cardholders also have access to the Libby app, which provides free digital borrowing of e-books and audiobooks, including a growing catalog of LGBTQ+ titles available immediately without a wait.
The Pride displays will remain up through the end of June at all BPL locations. The main branch is located at 210 Central Avenue in downtown Bellingham, and is open Monday through Saturday with evening hours on weekdays. The Fairhaven branch is located at 1117 12th Street in the Fairhaven Village neighborhood. Branch hours and the full Pride reading list are available at bellinghampubliclibrary.org.
For families with young readers, the library's summer reading program is also underway, with separate tracks for children, teens, and adults. Participants who log their reading hours can earn prizes and enter drawings throughout the summer. The summer reading program runs through August and is free to join for all library cardholders. New library cards are free for Whatcom County residents.
The Bellingham Public Library's Pride Month programming is one small piece of a broader civic culture in Whatcom County that has consistently supported LGBTQ+ residents and visitors. If you have not been to the library recently, this is a good time to stop in. The shelves are full, the staff have good taste, and the recommendations are worth following up on.
