From Heather's Mommies to Tango's Daddies

Mechanics’ Institute is pleased to announce and welcome the new Tarpey-Schwed LGBT Families Children’s Book Special Collection, generously donated by independent researcher and collector Randall Tarpey-Schwed. Spanning 1969–2023 and comprising over 200 titles, this addition to our Archives and Special Collections focuses on children’s books portraying families with one or more LGBT parents or family members. Intended primarily for researchers and academics, it traces the history of representation in literature, evolving societal attitudes, and the role of publishing amid controversy and change, bringing important Bay Area stories to our historic institution.

The collection features numerous groundbreaking works: early depictions of lesbian and gay parental relationships, titles from pioneering feminist presses, the first sympathetic portrayal of a gender-nonconforming child, and the first children’s book with a mixed-race heterosexual couple. These materials illustrate how such families have been presented over decades, often in the face of political controversy, publishers’ caution, and repeated challenges or bans in libraries nationwide. While created for young readers, the collection serves scholars studying developmental literature, censorship, and cultural history.

The June 9 Noontime History Hour program celebrates this new Special Collection with presentations by the donor and library staff. Randall Tarpey-Schwed will share insights into many of the "firsts" through a slideshow. Library Manager Myles Cooper will provide context on current book challenges and the broader state of LGBT family materials. Representatives from Librar Labs (a Y Combinator-backed team volunteering at the Institute) will demonstrate the innovative breakout website they are developing specifically for this collection, enabling deeper exploration beyond our regular OPAC while preserving Randy’s cataloging style and scholarly annotations.

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.

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