Subject: University of Washington Libraries LGBT Manuscripts & University Archives
From: WWW Consultation <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 95 14:50:19 -0800

The University of Washington Libraries
And the Libraries Manuscripts & University Archives

Holding materials on gay and lesbian political activity, health care
issues, and recent womens history, the Libraries is well positioned to
administer Seattle area lesbian, gay, and bisexual sources.  Holdings of
private papers and records are the largest in the State.  Political
activism is a major strength, ranging from the ACLU to the Feminist
Coordinating Council and other new feminist groups of the 1970s.
Buttressing the unpublished textual records (letters, reports, oral
histories) of this Division, are the printed and graphic resources of the
neighboring Special Collections and Preservation Division as well as the
holdings of the Microform and Newspaper Collection.  Mic-News, for
example, has filmed Pandora, the local 1970s feminist newspaper and holds
all but the earliest issues of Seattle Gay News.  When such multi-faceted
gifts as the Tim Mayhew Collection on Gay Rights are offered and
received, professionals in all three units collaborate.  They advise the
donor and each other on optimal handling of such materials as newspapers,
photographs, and newsletters.  Growing use of electronic resources
enables the Libraries to share information about holdings with local and
distant potential users.

Privacy, and Other Concerns
While preferring public access, when privacy or other considerations
concern prospective donors, the Curator of Manuscripts discusses various
options with them and works to develop mutually agreeable terms of access
and use.  Alice B. Theatres Hidden History oral history tapes are only a
recent example of special care taken to observe each informants
instructions.  For over 25 years Division staff have scrupulously
observed special terms of access as they have accepted, accessioned, and
administered oral histories from African American, Japanese American, and
Jewish informants as well as from artists, women, and political activists.
The legal form used to give original materials to Manuscripts &
University Archives is its Deed of Gift form.  An Explanation Sheet
accompanies it.  For additional detail about donating papers or records,
see the Divisions stained glass window brochure.  Most information in the
brochure is current, although the Manuscripts Collection is now housed
with the University Archives in the recently constructed Allen Library in
the heart of the UW campus,.

Reasons for a UW Libraries initiative on local lesbian and gay history
During a current reassessment of its collection development policy for
personal papers and organizational records, Manuscripts & University
Archives has conferred with faculty in several disciplines and has
identified local gay/lesbian/bisexual history as a desirable area to
expand.  In fact, curricular attention to gay and lesbian studies is
growing both at the UW and nationally.  Within Manuscripts & University
Archives, gifts of three notable collections in the past couple years and
substantial use of two of them by academic and community researchers
represent a solid beginning.  In addition, two oral history collections
have been promised.

Manuscripts & University Archives as a Repository
Researchers who visit to use a known collection often find additional
papers or records pertinent to their projects.  This one-stop shopping
opens unanticipated possibilities and maximizes research time.  The
Division is staffed to process gifts promptly and is experienced in
servicing diverse materials.  Its reading room, with regular hours of
opening, hosts users from campus, the local area, and distant places.

	For information on holdings:	[email-masked]
	To discuss potential gifts:	[email-masked]
	Phone:		206/543-1879
	Postal mail:
		Manuscripts & University Archives
		University of Washington Libraries
		Box 352900
		Seattle, WA  98195

10/17/95