LGBT Advice – We need a digital archive of LGBTQ+ works of art,…
foreign-dorian-deactivated20250:
We need a digital archive of LGBTQ+ works of art, science, and every other conceivable work we can share between each other because we are beyond the genocide warning level in most countries in the west and they’re already trying to purge us from libraries.
If other people are interested I’ll make this a priority
Speaking as someone with a background in archives, stuff like this does already exist. No need to reinvent the wheel. Creating an archive and making sure it’s accessible and searchable and actually preserves things for the long time (especially digital things) is actually a huge undertaking. Show some love to these already existing collections and maybe even consider contributing. There’s the Digital Transgender Archive off the top of my head. I know more I just have to think.
The History Project, based in Boston, is an LGBTQ+ community archive that’s existed for decades. Many of their collections are digitized.
The Lesbian Herstory Archives, based in Brooklyn, is similar.
The Digital Public Library of America covers a great many topics, but they also have LGBTQ+ stuff.
I’d also recommend searching “lgbtq+” and “libguide” in your preferred search engine. Many universities list helpful resources and databases, some of which are freely accessible.
Many public and academic libraries in the US and Canada (not sure where you’re writing from) subscribe to the Gale Archives of Sexuality and Gender. If you have a library card or are a student at a given library, you can access it for free.
In general, I’d really recommend searching around to see how you can support existing museums, community archives, college and university archives, etc that specialize in LGBTQ+ history and media local to you, whether that’s in your same town or regionally.
You are not alone! People are working on this and some of them have institutional budgets!
But also kind of looping back to the first post: you personally might have relevant records. Photos of Pride or protests you’ve been to, journals, a blog full of trans headcanons even. That’s all part of queer history and that’s the stuff these archives and museums are made of.
Label your stuff carefully, make backup copies, and get to know your local organizations!
We’re also working on building an open access archive and actively looking for content contributions! https://about.jstor.org/revealdigital/hiv-aids-the-arts/
University and community archives both are doing so much important work in curating and preserving queer history! And even the academic collections are generally still open to the public, whether that looks like you coming into the reading room at a local university to look at their materials or emailing the librarians to ask for photos or scans of them.
Also, like, even if they’re affiliated with institutions, queer archives at universities and museums are generally still curated and cared for by queer folks. I work in a queer history archive at my university, and all of us who regularly work with the collections are queer, the curator is even another trans person, and we have strong connections with other queer people and organizations in the surrounding community.
Academic and cultural institutions like historical societies, libraries, and universities have facilities built to preserve archival materials – everything from books and zines to pins, banners, t-shirts, and etc – and people trained in curation and conservation. And often we want to connect with the local community so we can house and preserve their stories and materials for a long time!
All the archives that have been added to this post are great, but here’s a few more to look at if you’re interested in finding a queer archive near you – or one further away with materials that interest you.
Australia:
The Australian Queer Archives
Bosnia & Herzegovina:
Kvir Arhiv
Canada:
The ArQuives (formerly the Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives)
The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria
France:
Conservatoire des Archives et des Mémoires LGBTQI, Le Académie Gay & Lesbienne
Germany:
Das Lila Archiv
Bibliothek & Archiv at the Schwules Museum
Spinnboden Archiv (focused on lesbian history)
Bibliothek & Archive at Centrum Schwule Geschichte
Forum Queeres Archiv München (focused on queer history in Bavaria and Munich)
The Netherlands:
LGBT Heritage Collection at the Internationaal Homo/Lesbisch Informatiecentrum en Archief
Norway:
Skeivt Arkiv at the University of Bergen
South Africa:
GALA Queer Archive
Switzerland:
Verein Schwulenarchiv Schweiz (focused on the history of gay men in Switzerland)
The United Kingdom:
LGBTQ Collections at the Glasgow Women’s Library
LGBTQIA+ Archives at the Bishopsgate Institute
The Hall-Carpenter Archives at the London School of Economics and Political Science
The LGBTQ Histories Collection at the British Library
Queer Heritage South/Queer in Brighton
LGBTQ+ Collections at the National Museums, Liverpool
The United States:
The Human Sexuality Collection at Cornell University
The Stone Wall Center at the University of Michigan Amherst
The Gay & Lesbian Collections and AIDS/HIV Collection at the New York Public Libraries
OutLoud Collection at StoryCorps (an oral history project)
The LGBT History Project at Dickinson College and the LGBT Center of Central Pennsylvania
The Rainbow History Project (focusing on queer history in Washington D.C. and the surrounding area)
The Invisible History Project (focusing on queer history in Alabama and the American South)
LGBTQ+ Collections at the University of South Florida
The Stonewall National Museum Archives & Library
The Saint Louis LGBT History Project
LGBTQ Religious Archives Network
The Gerber/Hart Library and Archive (focusing on Midwestern queer history and culture)
The Kinsey Institute Collections at Indiana University
The National Transgender Library and Archive Collection at the University of Michigan
The Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the University of Southern California
The Lambda Archives of San Diego
The James C. Hormel Center at the San Francisco Public Library
Also – I know what’s happening today is incredibly scary, but there are so many archives all over the world documenting our history, and so many people devoting their lives to preserving everything from groundbreaking political manifestos to kitschy ephemera. And supporting queer archives is more important than ever. My first day of work in the collections, the curator handed me a charred book that had been rescued from the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft book burnings, and nothing has ever driven home more that the work of archivists is both critical and powerful, especially in this day and age. Support queer archivists and queer archives, save materials and find one to house your own collections no matter how random they might seem, and go out and learn about our history!
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