LGBTQIA+ collections in the Manuscripts and Archives division: Organizational records

Organizational archives document the evolution of the community or group that they serve as well as its mission and goals towards its members. In many cases, these can include ephemeral items that were not meant to be preserved.

The holdings of the Manuscripts and Archives division include an array of entities charged with social justice work and community service, such as those engaged in the AIDS/HIV crisis to Gay Liberation, and include a variety of formats. 

The collections listed here are divided into: Organizations engaged in the AIDS/HIV crisis; Pre-Stonewall Era; During and Post-Stonewall.

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "ACT UP Reports" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1989-06-04.

ACT UP New York records, 1969; 1982–1997
100 linear feet. Records of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), founded in March 1987 in New York City as an organization committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. Available on microfilm.

ACT UP Oral History Project videotapes, 2002–2008 
290 videotapes. The ACT UP Oral History Project collection of videotaped interviews with surviving members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) New York.

AIDS activist videotape collection 
454 videotapes. This videotape collection offers extensive coverage of AIDS activism, including footage of ACT UP demonstrations, AIDS conferences, and oral histories of founders and members of the Gay Men's Health Crisis.

AIDS and Adolescents Network of New York (AANNY) records, 1987–1999 
25 linear feet. Administrative correspondence, board minutes, publications, program files, fundraising materials, printed matter, and photographs of a coalition of youth and health service providers concerned about the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on adolescents.

AIDS poster collection, 1986–1993 
2 linear feet. The AIDS Poster Collection contains posters related to AIDS awareness campaigns organized by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR): Art Against AIDS; Day Without Art, a project of Visual AIDS; and the World Health Organization.

Day Without Art (NYPL) collection, 1994–1995 
.83 linear foot. Messages, envelopes, and artifacts by staff members of The New York Public Library addressed to friends, family members, and others who died of AIDS-related causes.

Estate Project for Artists with AIDS records, 1989–1999 
9 linear feet. These records document the first national organization formed to address the protection of America's cultural heritage during the AIDS crisis. The records contain administrative, legal, and financial files, as well as subject and project files.

Gay Men’s Health Crisis records, 1975–1978, 1982–1999 
169 linear feet. The Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), America's oldest AIDS organization, formed in 1982, serves to educate the public about HIV/AIDS, provide care services for People with AIDS (PWAs), and advocate at all levels of government for fair AIDS policies. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, and reports regarding GMHC's safe sex education programs and client services.

Gran Fury collection, 1987–1995 
1.25 linear feet. Correspondence, press releases, posters, stickers, fliers, printed ads, billboards, and bus signs documenting the work of this AIDS activist art collective.

People with AIDS Coalition records, 1981–1993 
30 linear feet. Records of a non-profit organization in New York City founded by persons living with AIDS for the purpose of developing programs of caring, support, and empowerment of others living with AIDS.

Photographers + Friends United Against AIDS records, 1988–1996 
15 linear feet. Correspondence, minutes, financial records, grant applications, project proposals, exhibition catalogs, and photographs of a not-for-profit organization that raised funds to support organizations providing health care to people with AIDS, to medical research, and to public education initiatives.

Testing the Limits records, 1987–1995 
7 linear feet (plus video recordings). Organizational records and video footage shot by this videographers’ collective dedicated to the documentation of all aspects of the struggle for health care and civil rights for people with AIDS. Videos currently available for viewing consist of camera originals documenting AIDS activism, chiefly demonstrations by ACT UP New York.

Butterworth Farm collection, 1958–2009 
7 linear feet. Butterworth Farm is an intentional, "back to the land" community. The collection contains photographs documenting the daily activities of life on the farm and a small amount of personal papers of two of the farm's original founders, Allen Young and Carl Miller.

Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee records, 1973–1986 
.42 linear ft. The Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee formed in 1970 with the purpose of planning an event for the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The records primarily consist of organizational correspondence and minutes of meetings.

Christopher Street That New Magazine, Inc. records, 1979–1982 
6 linear ft. Authors' scripts and galleys of fiction and nonfiction submitted by literary agents and publishers for review or serialization in Christopher Street magazine.

Gay Activists Alliance records, 1970–1983 
10 linear feet. The records reflect the activities of the homophile organization in New York City, which was dedicated to the achievement of civil rights for gays through militant, non-violent means, and which became a leader in the gay liberation movement during its more militant phase following the Stonewall Riots of 1969.

Gay Alliance of Brooklyn records, 1971–1973 
.42 linear feet. Minutes of general meetings and of the governing board, constitution and by-laws, and records of various committees of this branch of the Gay Activists Alliance.

Gay Male S/M Activists records, 1981–1986 
.84 linear feet. Committee minutes and collateral papers, by-laws, and other administrative records of this nonprofit educational and service organization founded in New York City in 1981.

The Gay Report typescripts and questionnaires, circa 1979 
4 linear feet. The papers consist of typescript drafts of the text of The Gay Report arranged by chapter title, and original copies of the gay male section of the questionnaire returned by respondents. (The lesbian section of the questionnaire can be found in the Karla Jay Papers). >

Gay Switchboard of New York records, 1972–1983 
8 linear feet. Administrative records, telephone logs, and internal and external ephemera generated by the Gay Switchboard of New York, Inc., for the period between March 1972 and July 1983. The logs reveal the social, political, and recreational concerns of the New York gay community before the impact of AIDS.

Gaysweek records, 1978–1979 
2 linear feet. The collection consists of make-up sheets and miscellaneous correspondence and records, the bulk comprising make-up sheets for issues published in the period February–December 1978 and January–March 1979.

International Gay Information Center collection, 1951–1994 
Sound and video recordings, periodicals, photographs, printed ephemera, books, posters, and artifacts, donated by the International Gay Information Center. Personal papers and organizational records from the IGIC collection are given separate entries on this list.

International Gay Information Center records, 1974–1989 
14 linear feet. The records include correspondence, minutes, financial and office material, checklists of periodicals, and card files enumerating the published books collected by the IGIC before its collections were donated to the New York Public Library.

Mattachine Society of New York records, 1951–1976 
11 linear feet. The records reflect the origin and development of the homophile movement, especially in New York, and of the struggle to achieve through peaceful means the social integration of gays and the removal of legal sanctions discriminating against gays in housing, employment and assembly.

New York Native records, 1981–1988 
4 linear feet. The records of this bi-weekly New York City newspaper include editorial correspondence, make-up sheets, and ephemera issued by gay and other organizations. Included are copies of correspondence from the public to the "Carbon Copies" department commenting on issues affecting the gay community.

Old Catholic Church records, 1960–1981 
1.3 linear ft. Chiefly letters on liturgical matters and lay issues written to the Most Reverend Armand Constantine Whitehead, a priest and subsequently bishop of the Old Catholic Church in America. This offshoot of the Roman Catholic Church is notable for its rejection of the doctrine of Papal infallibility and its acceptance of gay clergy and congregants.

Women's Action Coalition (WAC) records, 1989–2003 
20 linear feet. A direct action organization founded in 1992 by members of the New York art world in support of women's rights. The records contain administrative records, committee files, subject files, photographs, printed material, video and sound recordings, as well as posters, placards, banners, and props used during protest demonstrations.

Afrekete records, 1993–1998 
1 linear feet. Afrekete was created to fill a perceived gap within African American and lesbian and gay writing; the records consist of publishing-related documents such as correspondence, submissions, editorial notes, and marketing files.

Thirteenth Moon records, 1973–1984 
27 linear feet. Records of the feminist literary journal. Although not self-defined as a lesbian press, Thirteenth Moon was founded by a lesbian poet (Ellen Marie Bissert) and frequently published works on lesbian themes.