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. 

Thanks to a 2009 grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), the USC Libraries recently created online finding aids for 27 archival collections covering diverse aspects of Southern California history. Among the highlights of the Excavating L.A. project are the papers of the Independent Commission on the Los Angeles Police Department, which investigated the 1991 beating of Rodney King, and the Webster Commission, which investigated the civil unrest that followed the 1992 acquittal of the four LAPD officers charged with the King beating. Other collections include rare materials documenting the Bunker Hill Redevelopment and Century Freeway projects, women's voting rights activist Amy Ransome, and the vast photo morgue of the Los Angeles Examiner newspaper. Keep reading for a complete list of the collections processed through this project.

The USC Libraries and L.A. as Subject have launched a new online collaboration with Los Angeles magazine, and L.A. as Subject's partnership with KCET-TV, now nearly two years old, recently passed a major milestone with the 100th online feature about Southern California history. Keep reading to learn more about the joint ventures, which highlight the USC Libraries' role as host institution for L.A. as Subject and are part of the libraries' continuing efforts to promote and improve access to the primary sources of our region's history.

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.

With support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the USC Libraries are digitizing historic photos of 1920s and 1930s Los Angeles from the "Dick" Whittington Photography Collection. With the recent launch of the new USC Digital Library site, we'll be sharing images from the Whittington collection that reveal previously hidden aspects of Southern California's visual history. Keep reading to learn more about the project and see unexpected images of early 20th century Los Angeles.

The USC Libraries have launched a new version of the USC Digital Library, providing improved search and discovery tools to help the USC community integrate digital collections more easily into teaching, learning and research. Several recently digitized collections are available now, and more will come online throughout the remainder of 2012 and in early 2013. Keep reading to learn more about the new USC Digital Library.

With the recent launch of a new USC Libraries app for iOS devices and the addition of a catalog search feature on the USC Libraries' Facebook page, there are now more ways than ever to find library resources. Keep reading to learn about these new services.