The ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives has donated the world's largest research collection related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history to the University of Southern California Libraries.
“As a member of the USC community, I'm delighted that we have this prestigious intellectual resource at USC”
The collection includes pioneering magazines, papers of LGBT activists and entertainers, and other materials that document diverse LGBT experiences. With its focus on the LGBT stories of Los Angeles, the ONE Archives collection complements the USC Libraries' extensive holdings in regional history.
"The USC Libraries will make the ONE Archives collection accessible to future generations of students, scholars and researchers at USC and around the world," said Catherine Quinlan, dean of the USC Libraries. "The collection will support teaching and research in history, gender studies, anthropology, literary studies and so many other disciplines. I thank the ONE Archives board of directors for their confidence in the USC Libraries and for entrusting these unique and valuable materials to our care."
The ONE Archives collection reveals the complex stories of many national, watershed events in LGBT history, including the Stonewall riots, the identification of HIV and the debate over Proposition 8, California's controversial Marriage Protection Act. The collection also highlights pre-Stonewall LGBT history and the significant role of Los Angeles and West Coast activists in advancing LGBT issues.
"The ONE Archives collection is one of the most important scholarly collections of materials related to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues in the country, if not the world. Its acquisition by USC Libraries means that USC faculty and students will have a remarkable resource for the purposes of both cutting-edge research and education," said Michael Quick, executive vice dean of the USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences.
ONE Archives materials have informed such diverse scholarship as Moira Kenney's Mapping Gay L.A.: The Intersection of Place and Politics and Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture by Walter L. Williams, USC College professor of anthropology, history and gender studies. Researchers contributing to Academy Award-winning film Milk and many other films and television programs have consulted the ONE Archives collection.
"As a member of the USC community, I'm delighted that we have this prestigious intellectual resource at USC," said Joseph Hawkins, president of the ONE Archives board of directors and a lecturer at USC College. "Speaking as the ONE Archives board president, we are thrilled to have a permanent home for the historic materials that ONE Archives has been collecting and preserving since our inception in 1952. This donation to the USC Libraries is an important step in preserving our community's heritage."
As the archive of record for several media, historical and political organizations, the collection also includes complete publication runs of The Advocate and Japan's oldest and longest running gay-themed magazine Barazoku, as well as the archives of the Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles, and the Harvey Milk for City Council campaign.
The collection will remain at its current location—909 West Adams Boulevard in Los Angeles—where researchers and the public are welcome to explore the materials Tuesday through Saturday. For hours and to learn more about the collection, visit www.onearchives.org. Items from the collection also will be on display at the 5th-annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar at Doheny Memorial Library on October 23, 2010.
Research confirms no association between SARS-CoV-2 and childhood asthma diagnoses