USC Libraries

The ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives recently processed 59 collections as part of a project that received a $133,577 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The project includes many diverse collections that document the beginnings of the LGBT civil rights movement in the United States and the daily lives of prominent artists, activists, and writers. The newly processed collections include photographs dating to 1850 and the records of organizations such as the Lambda Literary Foundation and LGBT running clubs. Another highlight is the papers of intersex activist Lynn Edward Harris. Keep reading for a complete list of the newly processed collections.

The GRAMMY Foundation announced a $10,000 grant to support the preservation of the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives' rich audio collections. The grant will fund the digital preservation of one-of-a-kind recordings of early LGBT activists dating back to the 1950s. The recordings capture the voices of early activists like Ivy Bottini, Morris Kight, and Phyllis Lyon as well as their views on topics ranging from military service, marriage equality, and the struggle for many basic legal protections taken for granted in our democracy. Keep reading for more details.

The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) recently awarded $203,200 to Out West: The LGBTQ Community Archive Cataloging Project, a collaborative effort to process rare archival materials held by the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives and the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. Included in the project are 111 archival collections featuring a wealth of rare materials, ranging from the suit worn by Harvey Milk when he was assassinated to early gay and lesbian wedding photos, matchbooks from 1950s gay bars, and memorabilia from José Sarria’s 1961 campaign for San Francisco city supervisor. Keep reading for photos and details about the project.

Thanks to a $133,577 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives launched a project that will make its archival holdings on LGBT activism and history dramatically more accessible to researchers. The collections selected for the project document the beginnings of the LGBT civil rights movement in the United States and the daily lives of a number of prominent artists, activists, and writers. Keep reading for photos from several collections that will be made available through this project. 

The Advocate recently highlighted Queers Print, a new exhibition of materials from the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. The exhibition explores six decades of LGBT history in the Los Angeles region through more than forty publications, including ONE Magazine, The Lesbian Tide, and The Advocate. Also included is a 1947 issue of Vice Versa, possibly the first lesbian publication in the United States. Stop by the ONE Archives Gallery and Museum on 626 W. Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood by March 17 to see Queers Print for yourself. Keep reading to learn about a related panel discussion about queer zines.

Researchers can now discover nearly 25,000 titles in the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives' books and periodical collections through Quick Search on the USC Libraries' homepage. Both collections are for use at the ONE Archives' West Adams headquarters by appointment only. Contact the ONE Archives at askone@onearchives.org or (213) 741-0094 to make a reseach appointment.

The USC Libraries provide access to six books of poetry by Eloise Klein Healy, who last week was named the first poet laureate of Los Angeles. A 2007 collection, The Islands Project: Poems for Sappho, can be checked out from Doheny Library, while researchers can consult five other volumes by appointment through Special Collections and the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.

A collection of letters sent to the pioneering LGBT publication, ONE Magazine, in the 1950s and '60s will come alive on October 6 at a benefit for the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives. Letters to ONE: From Fringe to Forefront also marks the opening of Meeting in the Margins: 60 Years of Queer Organizations in the Archive, a new exhibition of materials from the ONE Archives. Keep reading to learn more about the event, which begins on Saturday, October 6, at 5:00 p.m. in the ONE Archives' West Adams headquarters.

Materials from the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives are on display in a new exhibition inside the Los Angeles City Hall. Located in City Hall’s third-floor Bridge Gallery, Defiant Spaces: 60 Years of Queer Organizations in L.A. is a retrospective look at 44 LGBT organizations founded in Southern California. Keep reading to learn more about the exhibition, which is part of the City of Los Angeles’ Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Heritage Month.

The Los Angeles Times' Culture Monster blog recently highlighted Queer Worldmaking, the USC Libraries' exhibition in Doheny Memorial Library's Treasure Room. Keep reading to learn more about the exhibition, drawn from the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, and ONE's Cruising the Archive series, which the Times' Sharon Mizota describes as "inspiring in its depth and vibrancy."