Library: Queer Studies/LGBTQA: LGBTQA History

"We are powerful because we have survived." — Audre Lorde, writer and Civil Rights activist

Suggested Databases

America: History and Life This link opens in a new window
Find articles on the history and culture of North America, including the U.S. and Canada. This database covers thousands of years of history on the continent from prehistoric times to the present.
American Memory Project This link opens in a new window
Original materials from the Library of Congress including photographs, sound recordings, film clips, maps and more that illuminate 500 years of American history.
Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Articles, books, and dissertations on the history of the world, excluding the U.S. and Canada, covering the years 1450 to the present. For history of the United States and Canada, see America: History and Life.
Years covered: 1450-present
New York Times Archive This link opens in a new window
Full-page scans of the New York Times and Full-Text Searchable
Years covered: 1851 to 5 years ago

Additional Resources & Collections Beyond Pace

ACT UP and the AIDS Crisis: Primary Source Set The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) curates primary sources on ACT UP! and the AIDS Crisis in this online exhibit.
ACTUP Oral History Project "The ACT UP Oral History Project is a collection of interviews with surviving members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, New York. The project is coordinated by Jim Hubbard and Sarah Schulman, with principal camera work by James Wentzy and additional camerawork on the West Coast by S. Leo Chiang and Tracy Wares. "
Digital Transgender Archive "The purpose of the Digital Transgender Archive (DTA) is to increase the accessibility of transgender history by providing an online hub for digitized historical materials, born-digital materials, and information on archival holdings throughout the world."
In the Life: UCLA The UCLA Film & Television Archive worked with the producers of “In the Life,” the longest running LGBT television news magazine, to create a digital portal to all of their television episodes and some contextual materials.
The Lesbian Herstory Archives "The Lesbian Herstory Archives has the world's largest collection of materials by and about Lesbians." It is located in Brooklyn."
LGBT Materials @ NYPL Browse through a selection of digitized photographs and other ephemera from the collection at the New York Public Library on LGBT history.
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives "ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives is the oldest active Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning (LGBTQ) organization in the United States and the largest repository of LGBTQ materials in the world." This site provides access to a digital gallery and documents.
OutHistory "The website on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and,...heterosexual U.S. history..." View letters, photos, and reports on the Exhibits page of this site.
Queer Appalachia Oral History Project "The Queer Appalachia Oral History Project captures the diverse stories of gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, and questioning individuals who grew up, and/or currently live in the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) designated Central Appalachian Region, especially Eastern Kentucky. The stories collected depict the conditions of growing up queer in Appalachia, starting with the 1960s onward. Interviews include a diverse group of subjects, including medical doctors, accomplished authors, journalists, hair dressers, public health professionals and artists. Topics covered include violence and discrimination, religion, rural to urban migration, health (including HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, mental health), sexual activity, education/carrer choices, public health, and art and humanities."
Queer Zine Project Archive of zines with earliest issues from the 1970s.
Rainbow History Project The Rainbow History Project collects and preserves materials relating to "the history, arts, and culture relevant to sexually diverse communities in metropolitan Washington DC. " Some of the collection highlights include their digital archival collections, and oral histories.
Sophia Smith Collection : Documenting Lesbian Lives Oral History Project "The Documenting Lesbian Lives Oral History Project is a collection of life histories of women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, woman-identified-woman, queer, or who prefer not to identify with sexuality categories. The project provides a complex and nuanced collective story of American lesbian history and experience. Interviews were conducted by Smith College students in Kelly Anderson's 'Documenting Lesbian Lives' course in the spring of 2010 to the present. Students were trained in both United States lesbian history and oral history techniques and protocols. Narrators include grassroots activists and political organizers, educators and academics; musicians, writers, and artists; as well as community and religious leaders. They come from a variety of class, ethnic, racial, social, and geographic backgrounds. Interviews cover childhood and growing up experiences; education and employment; activism and politics; family, identity, relationships, and community."
TransAwakening Browse videos and other resources on different issues and subjects involving the trans* community.
University of South Florida Libraries: LGBT Collections
University of Victoria : Transgender Archives "The Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria is committed to the preservation of the history of pioneering activists, community leaders, and researchers who have contributed to the betterment of transgender and gender nonconforming people. Since 2007, we have been actively acquiring documents, rare publications, and memorabilia of persons and organizations associated with activism by and for transgender and gender nonconforming people."
Southern Voice Newspaper Collection Alternative news source for lesbians and gay men in the greater Atlanta area and Southeast. 1988-1995.

Primary Sources

A primary source is a source that contains first-hand accounts and/or information about a specific event from the time in which that event occurred.

A primary source can be:

correspondence / letters
diaries
interviews
personal narratives
pamphlets
speeches
historical newspapers / accounts from the time an event occurred

A secondary source is a source that is about a specific event but was created after that event has taken place.

A secondary source can be:

a book, or article discussing a specific event and/or topic after the fact
a book, or article that gives an overview or survey of a specific event or time period
biography
critique of a particular work and/or event
reviews of related studies and/or works

Through the Library you can access a few primary source collections such as:

American Memory Project This link opens in a new window
Original materials from the Library of Congress including photographs, sound recordings, film clips, maps and more that illuminate 500 years of American history.

Newspaper articles published when an event took place can be considered a primary source:

New York Times Archive This link opens in a new window
Full-page scans of the New York Times and Full-Text Searchable
Years covered: 1851 to 5 years ago

For more information about primary sources, take a look at our Primary Sources in History Research Guide!

ACADEMICS AT PACE

LIFE ON CAMPUS

CAREER PREPARATION

ADMISSION & AID

Queer Studies/LGBTQA

Gay Rights at the Ballot Box

Out in the Union

Not Straight, Not White : black gay men from the march on Washington to the AIDS crisis

Suggested Databases

Additional Resources & Collections Beyond Pace

Primary Sources