‘Reading is Freedom’: LGBTQIA+ Little Free Library unveiled at Presbyterian-United Church of Christ

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The Spa City has a new library, and while it may be tiny the message behind it is massive.

Cindy Swadba, a volunteer with Saratoga Pride, shared that the inspiration for this little library came from one that is on the porch of the Frederick Allen Elks Lodge which is for showcasing authors of color and content of color as well as a banned book little library outside of Cafe Lena.

When looking for a location to put the little library, Swabda shared that the Presbyterian-United Church of Christ has always been an ally and a support for Saratoga Pride and for the community.

“This church is a very affirming community,” Swadba shared. “Very affirming and supportive. They’re (the Church) always at our Pride Festival and we’ve done other projects with them and they’ve just been right there when we need it as part of their mission. So it’s very, very exciting.”

Andries Coetzee has been the church’s interim pastor since October, and shares personally that he feels very honored that Saratoga Pride wanted to partner with the church on this project — especially in light of how churches historically treated LGBTQ+ people.

“With the spiritual violence that churches perpetrated against queer people in mind, I’m very thankful that Saratoga Pride partnered with us and we are very grateful that the Little Library is here,” Coetzee said. “For me, it’s not so much about our church, but it is for the churches in Saratoga because there are many other churches that are open and embrace LGBTQ people as well.

“It’s not only about us, but it’s about religious and spiritual communities that say ‘we want to create a welcoming space’ and I am just grateful to belong to a city where we have interfaith connections and great welcoming spaces for the queer community.”

Having come out as gay last year, Coetzee also touched on how the Presbyterian-United Church of Christ and Saratoga Springs have truly been such a welcoming space.

“For me to be part of this community really feels like coming home to me,” Coetzee explained. “For me, this is not a church but a sanctuary where we regard all people as sacred and created in the image of the Divine. For me, as a queer person myself, it’s very affirming to be the interim pastor and know that our members in return receive that affirmation as well.

“That all are welcome in the space.”

The Little Free Library is number 187942 in the Little Free Library System, making it one of many little libraries benefiting their communities around the world. According to the Little Free Libraries Network Website, there are Little Free Libraries in 121 countries and more than 400 million books have been shared throughout the network.

How the library will work is that via a schedule Library Stewards will stop by the library to check in, take stock, and tidy up while informing others of what the library may be missing. There will be a back resource of books to keep the library stocked – providing options to all who might visit the library including kids books, young adult books, young reader books and adult books for anybody.

Those who may want to be library stewards can reach out to info@saratogapride.com.

The library was built by Jerry Ryan and was painted by Barb Sanford. Both shared they were very excited to be doing their part in establishing the library.

“This was right up my alley and was something really fun to be a part of,” Ryan said. “Really hoping that the kids in the area enjoy books that have a broader meaning than other books that you can get in other places. I think this is going to be wonderful for the community, and I think they should have these in every neighborhood.”

“I chose the designs because of our community, and I wanted to be involved as an ally,” Sanford said. “Every family has people that are gay and not really admitting it yet, and the more that allies help our community the more proud people can be.”

To Swadba’s knowledge, this little Library is one of the first to focus on LGBTQIA+ literature and she feels very happy to have been able to bring this to the community.

“Reading is freedom,” Swadba said. “People of all ages might enjoy picking up a book here, dropping off a book here and sharing the rights of the LGBTQIA community through these writings.”

The library can be accessed in the parking lot of the church, next to the playground at the Presbyterian United Church of Christ and Saratoga Springs located at 24 Circular St. For more information on Saratoga Pride visit http://www.saratogapride.com