CEFLS: LGBTQ+ Resources: Home

Library Bill of Rights Article I

Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves...

- Article I, Library Bill of Rights

Local & State-wide Resources

Adirondack Diversity Initiative
Existing at the intersection of environmental and transformational justice, the ADI works to make the Adirondacks a welcoming and inclusive place for both residents and visitors while ensuring a vital and sustainable Adirondack Park for future generations
Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York
LASNNY fights for fairness, dignity, and justice for those living in poverty and for a society which is inclusive and equitable for all. They transform lives, build community and empower people by using the law to address individual and systemic wrongs and inequities.
NYS Attorney General's LGBTQIA+ Rights
Various federal, state, and local laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, health care, and education, among other areas. The Office of the New York State Attorney General also has a dedicated Hate Crimes Unit that investigates bias-based acts of violence or intimidation when someone has harmed another person or violated their civil rights because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Adirondack North Country Gender Alliance
The ANCGA is the only 501(c)(3) serving the LGBTQ community in Clinton, Essex, and Franklin counties. They run support groups, offer referrals for mental health and medical care, and organize Pride events in the tri-county area.
Herkimer County Pride Alliance
The HCPA seeks to create a network of resources and support; build and strengthen community; promote equity and inclusion of LGBTQIA+ youth and adults; and bring lasting community changes that help decrease the suicide rates and risks in Herkimer County.
Lower Adirondack Pride
LAP is dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQIA+ individuals in Warren, Washington, and Northern Saratoga Counties through events, direct programming, and advocacy.
Plattsburgh Queer Collective
The Plattsburgh Queer Collective plans queer friendly events, educates and cultivates a safe community, and fundraises for marginalized and disadvantaged communities in Plattsburgh and the surrounding areas.
Potsdam Pride
Inspired by the groundswell of small, local Pride events in the North Country, Potsdam Pride came together in the summer of 2022 with hopes of organizing a community Pride festival for the Potsdam-Canton area and beyond. We are a small group of local folks with a mission to support our LGBTQIA community.
Pride Center of Vermont
The PCVT is the region’s most comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing community and the health and safety of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) Vermonters.
PrismNY
PrismNY is the Northern New York's LGBTQ Concerns Group. It is a member organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Prism meets monthly and provides LGBTQ people with a place to meet, communicate, and promote self-identity and awareness.
SUNY Plattsburgh LGBTQ+ Resource Committee
The SUNY Plattsburgh LGBTQ+ Resource Committee works to empower, enrich, embrace, and promote the experiences of campus and community members across the gender and sexuality spectra through education, awareness, advocacy, and resource networking while maintaining a fluid, future-oriented approach to both individual and organizational development.
Upper Hudson Queer Alliance
UHQA is a non-profit organization local to Hadley-Luzerne in the Southern Adirondacks. They work to create safe Queer spaces in the community by hosting community events, cultivating local queer culture for adults and youth, and direct grassroots opposition to growing anti-queer political action within local governments.

Alliance for Positive Health
The APH (formerly the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York) is a community-based organization dedicated to improving lives impacted by HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses. They also provide specialized health resources for LGBTQ people.
New York State Department of Health: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health
The office supports improved access to health care and supportive services, improving health outcomes and quality of life for LGBTQ+ individuals, capacity building and increasing community awareness of the health and human service needs of LGBTQ+ communities across New York State.
New York State Office of Mental Health: LGBTQIA+ Resources
This page highlights how to create safe spaces, get help, and learn more about the LGBTQ community, as it relates to mental health.
Planned Parenthood of the North Country New York
PPNCNY provides high-quality, affordable family planning and reproductive health care for nearly 12,000 women and men in the North Country each year. They have seven health centers throughout Clinton, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties. PPNCNY provides specialized medical care for LGBTQ people and organizes Pride events in the tri-county area.

Exploring Black LGBTQ Studies in the Schomburg Center's Archive
This guide is designed to highlight collections focused on Black LGBTQIA+ Studies within the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library. It is also a good starting point for conducting research in other NYPLs and archives that collect materials created by and for LGBTQIA+ communities.
How a 1970s commune created space for women in the Adirondacks
An NCPR article about A Woman's Place, a lesbian-friendly, feminist commune that existed in the 1970s & 1980s in Athol (near Warrensburg).
Lesbian Herstory Archives
The Lesbian Herstory Archives is a New York City-based archive, community center, and museum dedicated to preserving lesbian history, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Archives contain the world's largest collection of materials by and about lesbians.
Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art
The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art is the only dedicated LGBTQIA+ art museum in the world with a mission to exhibit and preserve LGBTQIA+ art and foster the artists who create it. It is located in Manhattan.
LGBT Materials in the New York Public Library
A collection of digitized images and documents held by the New York Public Library on LGBT topics.
NYC LGBT Historic Sites
Making an invisible history visible by documenting historic places connected to New York City’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & queer community.
NYS Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation: LGBTQIA+ History
The LGBTQIA+ community has been excluded from traditional historical narratives, and this page is meant to begin to share their stories and rich history within New York State.
Plattsburgh's Closet: The Gay Rights Movement in Plattsburgh
SUNY Plattsburgh alumni Alexander Meseck's Feinberg Library Prize for Undergraduate Research winning research paper on the history of the LGBTQ community in Plattsburgh.

NYS Office of Children and Family Services LGBTQ Homepage
This NYS agency website highlights resources for LGBTQ youth, parents and caregivers of LGBTQ youth, LGBTQ adult foster and adoption, and professionals working with LGBTQ individuals.
Saranac Lake High School Clubs and Groups: Genders & Sexualities Alliance
The GSA at Saranac Lake High School is a student-run organization whose mission is to provide a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ students and their peer allies to build community and support each other. Additionally, they aim to respectfully raise awareness and educate about the issues that affect :GBTQ+ youth. All students are welcome.

National Resources

American Civil Liberties Union Issues: LGBTQ Rights
The ACLU works to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people can live openly without discrimination and enjoy equal rights, personal autonomy, and freedom of expression and association.
GLAAD
GLAAD – the world’s largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization – increases media accountability and community engagement that ensures authentic LGBTQ stories are seen, heard, and actualized.
Human Rights Campaign
By inspiring and engaging individuals and communities, the Human Rights Campaign strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. HRC envisions a world where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people plus community members who use different language to describe identity are ensured equality and embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.
Lambda Legal
The Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, better known as Lambda Legal, is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS through impact litigation, societal education, and public policy work
LGBTQ Bar
The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association is a national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, law students, activists, and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender legal organizations. The LGBTQ+ Bar promotes justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBTQ+ community in all its diversity.
National Center for LGBTQ Rights
NCLR is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of LGBTQ people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education.
National LGBTQ Task Force
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equity for all LGBTQ+ people.
Out & Equal
Out & Equal is the premier organization working exclusively on LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Through our worldwide programs, Fortune 500 partnerships and our annual Workplace Summit conference, we help LGBTQ+ people thrive and support organizations creating a culture of belonging for all.
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund is committed to ending discrimination based upon gender identity and expression and to achieving equality for transgender people through public education, test-case litigation, direct legal services, and public policy efforts.

CenterLink
CenterLink is an international nonprofit organization and member-based association of LGBTQ centers and other LGBTQ organizations serving their local and regional communities.
LGBT National Help Center
The LGBT National Help Center is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization that provides vital peer support, community connections, and resource information. Our services focus on sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression.
PFLAG
PFLAG is the nation's largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them.

Indian Health Services LGBT Resource Page
The IHS works to ensure that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Two-Spirit (LGBTQ-2S) American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals and their families receive equal access to health services in the communities where they live.
LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory
The LGBTQ+ Healthcare Directory is a free, searchable database of all kinds of doctors, medical professionals and healthcare providers knowledgeable and sensitive to the unique health needs of LGBTQ+ people in the USA and Canada.
National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) LGBTQ Resources
NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. While belonging to the LGBTQ+ community can be a source of strength, it also brings unique challenges. For those who identify as LGBTQ+, it’s important to recognize how your experience of sexual orientation and gender identity relates to your mental health.
National LGBT Cancer Network
The National LGBT Cancer Network works to improve the lives of LGBT cancer survivors and those at risk by: educating the LGBT community about our increased cancer risks and the importance of screening and early detection; training health care providers to offer more culturally-competent, safe and welcoming care; and advocating for LGBT survivors in mainstream cancer organizations, the media and research.
OutCare
The OutList is an international directory that recognizes LGBTQ+ affirming providers who identify as affirming in the provision of care, treatment, and services of LGBTQ+ communities

Digital Transgender Archive
The DTA exists to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world.
GLBT Historical Society
Founded in 1985, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of LGBTQ public history and is based in San Francisco, California.
ONE Archives
The collections at ONE Archives at the USC Libraries are primarily national in scope, with special focus on LGBTQ histories in the Los Angeles region. The archives also include a number of international materials, such as books, periodicals, and posters.
OutHistory
OutHistory is a website dedicated to LGBTQ people in history. It hosts primary source documents, academic articles, and community-submitted works on historical topics.
Then and Now: Experiences of the LGBTQ+ Community
A resource guide created by the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) that highlights LGBT civil rights issues.

Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (OLOC)
OLOC promotes Old Lesbian visibility. OLOC provides Old Lesbians with the chance to meet like-minded women in our common struggle to confront ageism, share mutual interests, and experience the joy and warmth of playing and working together.
SAGE
SAGE is a movement of loving, caring activists dedicated to providing advocacy, services, and support to older members of the LGBTQ+ community.

ALA: Speaking OUT Against Bullying
Speaking OUT is a list of resources for kids in trouble and the people who care about them. The list was assembled by the Rainbow Round Table (RRT) of the American Library Association (ALA).
COLAGE
COLAGE unites people with one or more LGBTQ parent into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities.
GLSEN
GLSEN is a national non-profit organization, working to create a safe and inclusive K-12 school environment for LGBTQ+ youth.
GSA Network
GSA Network is a next-generation LGBTQ racial and gender justice organization that empowers and trains queer, trans and allied youth leaders to advocate, organize, and mobilize an intersectional movement for safer schools and healthier communities.
Point Foundation
The Point Foundation mission is to empower promising LGBTQ students to achieve their full academic and leadership potential – despite the obstacles often put before them – to make a significant impact on society.
Trans Student Educational Resources
Trans Student Educational Resources is a youth-led organization dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans and gender nonconforming students through advocacy and empowerment.
The Trevor Project - 1-866-488-7386
The leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ young people

LGBTQ+ Resources

Library Assistant

LGBTQ Resource Guide

Other Resource Guides

Mental Health and Crisis Resources

Library Bill of Rights Article I

Local & State-wide Resources

National Resources