From Heather's Mommies to Tango's Daddies: Welcoming the New Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children's Book Special Collection

On Tuesday, June 9 at 12 noon, Mechanics’ Institute proudly welcomes the new Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children’s Book Special Collection (1969–2023) to our Archives and Special Collections during Pride month. This research-oriented collection documents the emergence and evolution of children’s literature featuring lesbian or gay parents and other family members, highlighting many "firsts" in the genre, works from early feminist presses, and examples of mixed-race and gender-nonconforming portrayals. Collector Randall Tarpey-Schwed will present a slideshow on key titles and their historical significance, followed by Library Manager Myles Cooper on book challenges and the current landscape of such materials. Librar Labs (Y Combinator-backed) will demonstrate their custom breakout website, offering researchers enhanced discovery through the donor’s detailed cataloging notes—distinct from our standard OPAC. This event underscores the collection’s value for scholars of literary history, cultural representation, and Bay Area stories.

About the Speakers

Randall Tarpey-Schwed is an independent researcher and book collector. When he became a parent twenty-five years ago he looked for books to read to his children that portrayed "his kind" of family. That search revealed a fascinating history that began in 1979 with the first portrayal of a gay parental relationship in a children's book, through political controversy and grandstanding, publishers' caution and censorship. Along the way, he discovered some wonderful books to read to his children. In 2025 he donated his collection of over 200 children's books to the library of the Mechanics' Institute.

Librar Labs is a Y Combinator-backed startup (W26) building AI-powered tools to help libraries better understand and explore cultural collections. Their technology creates intelligent systems for navigating literature and special collections in ways traditional catalogs cannot. At Mechanics’ Institute, the Librar Labs team has been volunteering their expertise to design a dedicated breakout website for the new Tarpey-Schwed Collection, preserving the donor’s cataloging style and contextual annotations while offering researchers dynamic new discovery pathways. Jonathan Görtz and Kaan Sirin will present on this innovative project.

Myles Cooper is Library Manager at the Mechanics’ Institute, where he oversees the Archives and Special Collections.

Free for Members, $5 for Public