Gala Pride and Diversity Center Guest Post
When most people think of San Luis Obispo, they picture the rolling hills, the charming downtown, or the iconic Thursday night farmers’ market. But tucked inside The Gala Pride & Diversity Center is a cultural treasure unlike any other on the Central Coast: the Hatler Memorial Library, a community-run lending library entirely dedicated to LGBTQ+ voices and stories.
Since 2007, The Gala Pride & Diversity Center has called the building at 1060 Palm Street home, and the library has become the heart of the center. Visitors can find fiction, nonfiction, memoir, young adult literature, graphic novels, poetry, and film—all by and about queer people. From classics like The Well of Loneliness and the works of Oscar Wilde and Audre Lorde, to contemporary writers like Ocean Vuong and Kaveh Akbar, the shelves reflect the richness and diversity of queer creativity.
The library is also a memorial. It is named for Ray Hatler, a longtime San Luis Obispo resident and beloved member of the local queer community. Hatler, a retired attorney, lived in Los Osos with his partner, Jamie Johnson, and together they became central figures in the social fabric of SLO’s LGBTQ+ life. A photo of them from the early 1990s still hangs in the library, reminding visitors that the progress and visibility we enjoy today rests on the shoulders of those who built community during times when it wasn’t always easy (or safe) to do so.
The two first visited San Luis Obispo almost by accident. In 1981, Jamie bought a new car, and on a whim they decided to take Highway 1 north. They only made it as far as San Luis Obispo before stopping for the night, but when they drove down Los Osos Valley Road the next morning, the green hillsides and coastal beauty convinced them: this was where they would one day retire. They returned again and again, eventually buying land, building a home, and establishing their lives here.
From Strangers to Chosen Family
At first, they worried about being isolated. “We moved up not knowing anybody,” Ray recalled in a 2006 oral history interview with the SLO Queer Archive Project.
“We didn’t know if it was Bakersfield by the Bay or what we were getting ourselves into.” But their fears quickly eased when, as they stood outside looking at their new property, a neighbor walked over with three dogs and introduced herself. Within weeks, the couple found themselves welcomed into a thriving queer community. “We have a personal phone list of over 200 people,” Jamie said. “People we really know. It’s a fantastic area. When we moved, as far as we knew, we’d be the only two gays in the area. Untrue! Untrue!”
Today, the library is a vibrant, evolving resource that carries forth the spirit of connection and belonging that marks the LGBTQ+ community here in SLO. The collection boasts a remarkable Lambda Literary Award archive, ensuring that San Luis Obispo readers have access to the very best of queer literature from around the world. More recently, thanks to a donation from CenterLink, the library now offers brand-new, contemporary titles ranging from memoirs to graphic novels, young adult fiction to children’s picture books. Visitors can also browse DVDs exploring LGBTQ+ history and culture, from groundbreaking films to documentaries that shaped queer representation.
The library has thrived for nearly two decades thanks to the love and care of volunteers—Marie Moore, Elaine Mason, Nichole Schmitz, and many others—who have kept it organized and alive. As a donation-based library, they are always seeking new titles, especially books published after 2015, which remain the biggest gap in our shelves.
Some may wonder why a separate LGBTQ+ library is necessary when public libraries exist. But community-based libraries like this one are born from a legacy of mutual aid and resistance. They preserve and celebrate our stories at a time when queer and trans books are being censored and erased across the country. The Hatler Memorial Library stands as both refuge and archive: a place where our (hi)stories are not only collected, but honored, protected, and shared.