Clark Family Library: LGBT Studies: Finding Primary Sources

Primary Sources

Primary Source: First Hand, from the time the event took place

Eg. Notes, Letters, Photos, Interviews, Newspapers, Art, Film

Secondary Source: Second Hand, an analysis of events

Eg. Books, Editorials or Analysis in Newspapers, Web pages, Biographies, Dissertations, Documentary Films.

In cultural studies secondary sources are published materials such as books, journals and newspapers, press releases, and authoritative web sites. Secondary sources are generally collected by libraries and are inventoried in catalogs such as the Library Catalog. Catalog content may be limited to simple citations (directing you a physical object such as a book) or it may be fully integrated with digital content such as databases or full-text journals.

Primary sources are artworks and unpublished materials such as letters and memos, draft documents, internal reports, technical drawings, and other forms of direct documentation (moving images, sound recordings, transcripts, photographs). Primary source materials are generally collected by archives and inventoried in finding aids.

To discover archival collections, consult ArchiveGrid, a database of primary-source collection finding aids. Archival collections and finding aids are also readily discoverable through Google searches.

Source: MoMA Library

Online Archives

ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.

Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive search of the Gale primary source databases: 17th-18th Century Burney Collection, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, County and Regional Histories & Atlases: Pennsylvania Digital Archive, Freedom Riders in the South, Mountain People: Life and Culture in Appalachia, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Punch Historical Archive, The Economist Historical Archive, The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, and Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive.

Archives | NYPL
Archives are the records created by people and organizations as they lived and worked. Collections can range in size from a single letter or diary to thousands of boxes of institutional records. They can contain drafts of literary works, financial records, meeting minutes, reports, memorabilia, as well as sound recordings, videos, film, databases, and software.
On this site, you can search The New York Public Library's vast holdings, initiate a research visit, submit a query to an archivist, and access digitized material.
Carnegie Mellon University Library
Libguides: Browse their best resources, organized by subject
Collections | Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives holds more than one million volumes and over six thousand archival collections documenting war, revolution, and peace in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Counterculture | UMass Amherst
UMass Amherst Special Collections and Archives listings of digitized counterculture materials and photographs.
Digital Collections | NYPL
Explore 901,680 items digitized from The New York Public Library's collections.
This site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
For Researchers | Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian has wealth of information to support researchers and learners of all types. Whatever the discipline may be, we have online resources and experts who are eager to share knowledge and collaborate. Our investigations unfold at research centers, field sites, and museums in the United States and around the globe.
Hathi Trust Digital Library
A partnership of academic & research institutions, offering a collection of millions of titles digitized from libraries around the world.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.
The Public Domain Review
Founded in 2011, The Public Domain Review is an online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history of art, literature, and ideas.
In particular, as our name suggests, the focus is on works which have now fallen into the public domain, that vast commons of out-of-copyright material that everyone is free to enjoy, share, and build upon without restriction. Our aim is to promote and celebrate the public domain in all its abundance and variety, and help our readers explore its rich terrain – like a small exhibition gallery at the entrance to an immense network of archives and storage rooms that lie beyond.

Digital Collections

Library of Congress LGBT+
The LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive collects and preserves online content which documents LGBTQ+ history, scholarship, and culture in the United States and around the world. Sites include domestic and international non-profit organizations, journalism and news external link,
Digital Public Library of America
Offers access to over 43 million images, texts, videos, and sounds hosted at libraries, museums, and archives across the United States. Search by keyword to locate LGBTQ+ content.
GLBT Historical Society
Founded in 1985, the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of LGBTQ public history.
DPLA Digital Public Library of America
The Digital Public Library of America empowers people to learn, grow, and contribute to a diverse and better-functioning society by maximizing access to our shared history, culture, and knowledge.
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.
GLBT Historical Society Museum & Archives
Search digital collections, exhibitions, primary source sets, and research guides.
Digital Transgender Archive
A collaboration of more than fifty colleges, universities, organizations, public libraries, and private collections to increase the accessibility of transgender history.
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
The largest repository of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) materials in the world housed at USC Libraries.
OutHistory
Includes timelines, biographies, essays, and primary sources on assorted topics.
LGBTQIA+ Studies: A Resource Guide
Find LGBTQ+ items in the collections of the Library of Congress.
Digital Archive of the Gay Freedom Movement in Jamaica (GFM)
Digitized papers through the Digital Library of the Caribbean of the Gay Freedom Movement in Jamaica (GFM), the first movement in the English-speaking Caribbean to seek rights for LGBT people.
LGBTQ Histories from the British Library
Growing collection of digitized items charting the struggles for love, identity and legislative change faced by LGBTQ communities in the UK.

Archived Publications & Ephemera

Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee Collection via UConn
Flyers from the first Christopher Street Liberation Day events digitized by the University of Connecticut.
Independent Voices: An Open Access Collection of an Alterative Press
A collection of regional, small press, and activist magazines and newspapers compiled by librarians and scholars. Search by title or visit the “Series” tab to choose LGBT.
Pride Archives - The Village Voice
Find historical articles converted to web pages with images of the original text from the print paper.
Outweek Internet Archive
Outweek was a gay and lesbian weekly news magazine published in New York City from 1989 to 1991.
Queer Zine Archive Project (QZAP)
Digital archive of zines founded in 2003.

Oral Histories

ACT UP Oral History Project
Collection of interviews with surviving members of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power.
NYC Trans Oral History Project
A collective, community archive working to document transgender resistance and resilience in New York City through oral history.
LGBTQ Oral History Digital Collaboratory
Provides links to LGBTQ oral history collections primarily based in the U.S. and Canada.
Making Gay History: The Podcast
This podcast highlights Eric Marcus’s audio archive of rare interviews conducted for his award-winning oral history of the LGBTQ civil rights movement.
LGBT Religious Archive Network (LGBTQ-RAN)
Provides in-depth interviews with more than 60 early leaders of LGBTQ+ religious movements.

Freedom Riders in the South This link opens in a new window
Database documents the civil rights group's mission with over 4,000 digitized images of surveillance reports, chronologies, from the FBI Investigation Library. Offers a great collection of primary source documents on civil rights, desegregation, and African American studies. Gale.
Gale Primary Sources This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive search of the Gale primary source databases: 17th-18th Century Burney Collection, 19th Century U.S. Newspapers, County and Regional Histories & Atlases: Pennsylvania Digital Archive, Freedom Riders in the South, Mountain People: Life and Culture in Appalachia, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, Punch Historical Archive, The Economist Historical Archive, The Illustrated London News Historical Archive, and Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive.

The Clark Family Library Digital Archives This link opens in a new window
The Clark Family Library Digital Archives is a multimedia exhibition of materials from the Learned T. Bulman '48 Historic Archives & Museum at Washington & Jefferson College. The Archives & Special Collections Library houses items related to the College and its history as well as a large collection of manuscripts and other material related to 18th and 19th century history of the United States, with an emphasis on Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Washington County Public Libraries
The Washington County Library System is a federated library system made up of the 14 independent libraries in Washington County. Many provide access to collections relevant for genealogical and historical study.
Washington's Citizens Library
Excellent resource for social history of the city and county of Washington PA, including "Family Search", "Find a Grave" and library access to ancestry.com
Washington County Historical Society
Excellent resource on Early American History, Black History and Social History of the county. The Washington County Historical Society administers several sites—the Francis J. LeMoyne House, the LeMoyne Crematory, the Norma K. Grimes Research Library and the Washington County Frontier History Center.
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The Historical Society utilizes these sites to educate the public through offering tours, special events, outreach programs and research services. As the repository for Washington County heritage, the Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of documents and artifacts.

A curated list of artists in institutional archives and artists own archives independent from institutions. Keep checking back as this list is added to. Contact the Archivist with any suggested additions.

Artists Archives in Institutions

USA

African American Performance Art Archive

Carnegie Museum of Art

Met Libraries and Research

MoMA Learning

Whitney Archives

LGBT Artists Archives

Yale Centre for British Art

Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art

Sotheby's Institute of Art

Greer Lankton Collection