Gerber Hart Library and Archives

Call Website Contact the museum

Gerber Hart Library and Archives Gerber/Hart is an LGBTQ library and archives - one of the largest such organizations in the United States.

02/2021 - Gerber/Hart is resuming its regular hours of operation for walk-in patrons and for viewing exhibits. Researchers (those making use of archives collections, periodicals, or items from Special Collections) should still make appointments by emailing [email protected]. Hours of operation are Wednesdays and Thursday 6-9 p.m., Fridays 12 noon-4 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Gerber/Hart Library and Archives was founded in 1981 to be a depository for the records of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified (LGBTQ) individuals and organizations, and for other resources bearing upon their lives and experiences in American society. Gerber/Hart Library and Archives has since grown into being the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ circulating library with over 14,000 volumes, 800 periodical titles, and 100 archival collections. Hosting various programs and events that support its beliefs that knowledge is the key to dispelling homophobia and that affirming information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons is critical to fostering pride and self confidence, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives seeks to not only preserve and protect items of LGBT individuals and organizations, but to be a conduit for change. Recently relocated in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Gerber/Hart Library and Archives serves the research and recreational reading needs of the Chicago metro area and the Midwest, and through participation in the Interlibrary Loan program, people throughout the U.S.

Happy Friday - this issue of Le***an Connection may be from 1988, but cat behavior is timeless.Le***an Connection is sti...
10/16/2026

Happy Friday - this issue of Le***an Connection may be from 1988, but cat behavior is timeless.
Le***an Connection is still being published today! Check them out at Le***an Connection and stop by Ge**er/Hart to read through issues from our LGBTQ+ periodicals collection!
***anconnection

Just over halfway through LGBTQ+ History Month, and we’ve added in a few more events! Here’s where you can find us this ...
10/16/2026

Just over halfway through LGBTQ+ History Month, and we’ve added in a few more events! Here’s where you can find us this month!
On Monday 10/19 we’ll be at Nobody’s Darling for a Mixer with Chicago’s LGBTQ+ Bar Association (⚖️ LAGBAC ⚖️ Nobody's Darling )
Next Thursday, 10/22, we’ll be popping up at Music Box Theatre for a special screening of Rufus Butler Seder’s SCREAMPLAY (1984) (Music Box Theatre Music Box Theatre Lounge Muscle Distribution Scott axelito )
On Wednesday 10/28 we’ll be hosting Q***r Stitch Night with Isabel Sperry - stop by with a fabric project of your own or feel free to collage or color with some of our art supplies (isabel 🍓 )
And finally don’t forget to join us on Halloween from 10 AM - 3:30 PM for the Ge**er/Hart Booksale! SCARY low prices! :) Plus AforAce will be popping up for Ace Week! (Kate )

Next Thursday!Join us at the Music Box Theatre for a special screening of Rufus Butler Seder’s SCREAMPLAY (1984)! Ge**e...
10/15/2026

Next Thursday!
Join us at the Music Box Theatre for a special screening of Rufus Butler Seder’s SCREAMPLAY (1984)!
Ge**er/Hart will bring a selection of materials from our LGBTQ+ Library and Archives that relate to the film (and q***r horror). Director Rufus Butler Seder, Art Director Cheryl Hirshman, and Film Historian Elizabeth Purchell in person for a post-film Q&A
New 4K restoration by Muscle Distribution in association with Matchbox Cine!
About the film:
Edgar Allan (Rufus B. Seder) is an aspiring screenwriter who has just come to Hollywood to make it in the movies... only to wind up working as the janitor at a fleabag apartment complex run by the greasy ex-boxer Martin (George Kuchar) instead. When Edgar begins channeling his frustrations with his kooky neighbors into fodder for his latest screenplay, the vivid murder scenes he writes begin to happen for real. As the bodies begin to pile up and the line between reality and fiction become increasingly blurred, Edgar, who is convinced that the only way to be a real writer is to suffer, is slowly driven mad.
Inventively produced using a host of early cinematic techniques and featuring a memorable performance by underground film legend George Kuchar, Rufus Butler Seder’s Screamplay is a singularly charming tribute to Old Hollywood and a marvel of low-budget but high-concept filmmaking. New 4K restoration by Muscle Distribution in association with Matchbox Cine.
Get your tickets at the link in our bio!

Postponed! Beyond the Covers: Gender-Affirming Pelvic Health, One Book at a Time is postponed to February - you can stil...
10/15/2026

Postponed!
Beyond the Covers: Gender-Affirming Pelvic Health, One Book at a Time is postponed to February - you can still register for tickets on our website.
Learn more and register for a ticket (sliding scale - $25-$35) at the link in our bio! And learn more about Dr. Laura Ross at Dr. Laura Ross | Pelvic PT, S*x Counselor | Chicago & Online !
***rpelvichealth

Join us at Ge**er/Hart on Sunday November 8th at 2PM for a conversation with acclaimed author and historian Susan Stryke...
10/14/2026

Join us at Ge**er/Hart on Sunday November 8th at 2PM for a conversation with acclaimed author and historian Susan Stryker about her new book, Changing Gender!
Stryker will sit down for a public interview with Loyola University Chicago historian Michelle Nickerson to talk about the book and how it can help us understand and reckon with the challenges facing the LBGTQ+ community in the current political landscape.
Seating is limited – RSVP for a seat at the link in our bio for this free event!
Doors will open at 2pm to welcome registered participants to a reception in the Ge**er Hart’s Raffety/Tran Community Room. Visitors can visit the library reading room (and perhaps find a LGBTQ+ book to check out) and exhibit space while enjoying a beverage and bite. At 3pm the event will start in the Atrium with introductory remarks. Audience Q and A will follow.
Staff from Women & Children First Books will also be on site selling copies of Changing Gender for purchase at the event.
Sponsored by the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership’s Ann F. Baum Speaker Series and the Departments of History and Women’s Studies & Gender Studies at Loyola University Chicago
RSVPS required for this free event. RSVP at the link in our bio!

Tomorrow at 1 at Ge**er/Hart!Come hang out with A for Ace Chicago at Ace Book Club where they’ll be reading Don’t Let t...
10/09/2026

Tomorrow at 1 at Ge**er/Hart!
Come hang out with A for Ace Chicago at Ace Book Club where they’ll be reading Don’t Let the Forest In, a YA psychological horror by C.G. Drews (Kate CG Drews).
Book Club a collaboration between AforAce and Ge**er/Hart Library and Archives, is a welcoming space for aces, allos, and allies to explore the diverse world of asexuality through literature.
See you tomorrow!

AI? No thanks - we’d rather be using Gay Cliparts Found by volunteer Sharon while sorting items from the William B. Ke...
10/09/2026

AI? No thanks - we’d rather be using Gay Cliparts
Found by volunteer Sharon while sorting items from the William B. Kelley & Chen K Ooi collection. This box was entitled “non traditional ephemera” - stay tuned for more highlights.
Want to learn more about Bill Kelley and this incredible collection? Check out season one of our podcast Unboxing Q***r History! And big thanks to Sharon for continuing to process this amazing and vast collection!

We had a blast today at the Chicago History Museum talking with students and teachers about how they could use Ge**er/Ha...
10/06/2026

We had a blast today at the Chicago History Museum talking with students and teachers about how they could use Ge**er/Hart’s resources for Chicago Metro History Day!
Chicago Metro History Day (formerly known as the Chicago Metro History Fair) is for students in grades 6-12. It is a project-based inquiry program that empowers students to become historians who conduct research and share their conclusions. Guided by their teachers, students choose their own topics connected to an annual theme, and then conduct research, analyze sources, make an argument, and finally produce a project to show their work. Students make websites, performances, documentaries, papers, and exhibitions which are evaluated by community volunteers at annual competitions in the Chicago metro area. This year’s theme is “Innovation in History: Impact, Influence, Change.”
For the last several years, Ge**er/Hart has participated in the kickoff days for the project - sharing resources with students and teachers that could be used in their projects. We’ve also sponsored awards for students who pursue projects related to LGBTQ+ history.
We can’t wait to see the projects this year’s students choose!
Chicago Metro History Day Chicago History Museum

Next week!Beyond the Covers: Gender-Affirming Pelvic Health, One Book at a TimeJoin us on Thursday, October 15th, at 6:3...
10/06/2026

Next week!
Beyond the Covers: Gender-Affirming Pelvic Health, One Book at a Time
Join us on Thursday, October 15th, at 6:30 PM at Ge**er/Hart with Dr. Laura Ross (Pelvic Health PT and S*x Counselor) for a 90 minute pelvic health workshop centering trans and gender-expansive bodies!
Pelvic health has a way of skipping right past trans and gender-expansive bodies. This workshop puts them at the center. Over 90 minutes, we’ll move through the questions that actually come up: the practical realities of binding and tucking, what gender-affirming hormones do (and don’t do) to the pelvic floor, what to expect with top and bottom surgery before and after, and sexual health when dysphoria is in the room (or not!). Each section opens with a book or a character, because the archives are full of people who have already lived this, and their stories make good company for the clinical parts. Come with questions. Leave with specifics you can use, and a short reading list to take home.
Learn more and register for a ticket (sliding scale - $25-$35) at the link in our bio! And learn more about Dr. Laura Ross at Dr. Laura Ross | Pelvic PT, S*x Counselor | Chicago & Online !

It’s tomorrow! Tickets are no longer available online but there will be limited tickets at the door. Stop by the Center ...
10/03/2026

It’s tomorrow!
Tickets are no longer available online but there will be limited tickets at the door. Stop by the Center on Halsted tomorrow at 9 for Ge**er/Hart’s Q***r History Symposium!
A full day of speakers ALL about q***r history? Cinnamon buns from Ann Sather + pastries and lunch from smackdab? Specially designed tote bag? A chance to nerd out about q***r history all day? We can’t wait.
See you tomorrow!
***rhistorysymposium

Address

Chicago, IL

Opening Hours

Wednesday 6pm - 9pm
Thursday 6pm - 9pm
Friday 12pm - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+17733818030

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Gerber Hart Library and Archives posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Gerber Hart Library and Archives:

Shortcuts

Share