Research: Archives and Manuscript Collections

Research Hours:

Tuesday to Friday: 10am to 5pm by appointment for GLBTHS members
Saturday: 1pm to 5pm to the general public - appointment recommended

Please email Rebekah Kim, Managing Archivist, for appointment.


Our main collections include:

Archives and Manuscripts
The Archives and Manuscripts collections consist primarily of unpublished material, including letters, diaries, manuscripts, photographs, costumes, and other artifacts. These collections document the lives of both “average” people and community leaders. They also include the records of many community organizations, businesses, and political campaigns.

Collections Policy Statement
November 2006

The GLBTHS focuses its collections on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer life in the wider San Francisco Bay area and Northern California. Our collections document the tremendous diversity of GLBT life, its sexual, social, political, economic, cultural, religious and spiritual dimensions.  It documents not only the lives of GLBT leaders, but ordinary people, organizations, and informal groups.  Examples of our holdings include personal papers, organizational records, photographs, t-shirts, buttons, art, erotica, ephemera and an extensive GLBT periodicals collection, one of the largest in the world.

We are always interested in assessing donations of all kinds for inclusion in our collections.  Currently, we would like to fill particular gaps in our holdings, and we seek materials documenting GLBT life
prior to the 1970s, as well as GLBT people of color, lesbian and bisexual women of all social/cultural backgrounds, GLBT working class communities, and bisexual and transgender people of all time periods. Questions concerning donations should be directed to Rebekah Kim, Managing Archivist.

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Make a Donation

Search our Collections

Manuscripts
Many of our finding aids are posted on the Online Archive of California "a statewide digital resource that integrates into a single, searchable database, finding aids to and digital facsimiles of the contents of primary resource collections throughout California.” This resource can help you search other California collections that might contain material regarding your research.

Periodicals
Check out CatalogQ, our new online database of GLBT periodical publications. Visit CatalogQ.


Video

Tour the GLBT Historical Society Archives
conducted by Gerard Koskovich

Are Gay Neighborhoods Worth Saving?
panel discussion

How Did Gay Pride Flag Originate?
View the CBS/Channel 5 News video

More GLBTHS videos on YouTube...