CORVALLIS, Ore. - A new community archive dedicated to preserving and sharing the histories and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people at Oregon State University is being established by the LGBT community at OSU.

The Oregon State Queer Archives, or OSQA, will include documents and materials as well as recorded stories from the OSU and Corvallis LGBT communities. Bradley Boovy, an assistant professor of women, gender and sexuality studies, and Natalia Fernandez, multicultural librarian at OSU, are leading the project. 

"We envision the archive less as a collection of out-of-date materials that only historians are interested in, and more as a living repository that nourishes the memories and stories of OSU's LGBTQ+ communities for creative engagement and that will potentially help future LGBTQ students navigate life at OSU," Boovy said.

An event to celebrate the launch of the archives will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 7 in the SCARC Reading Room on the fifth floor of OSU's Valley Library, 201 S.W. Waldo Pl., Corvallis.

The event will include a screening of a documentary created by OSU honors student Kiah McConnell that showcases a number of archival materials and video interviews with LGBT community members; a discussion of ways faculty, staff, students and the community can work with the Queer Archives; and a display of some of the archive's materials. Light refreshments will be served and the public is welcome to attend. 

Archive organizers also are interested in connecting with OSU alumni and members of the OSU community, both in Corvallis and throughout the state, who might be interested in being interviewed and sharing stories about their experiences. Archive organizers can be reached at [email protected].

"We hope that the archive will provide opportunities for research into the lives of people from marginalized communities as well as collaborative possibilities with research and teaching faculty who are interested in working on building the archive," Boovy said.

Source: 

Bradley Boovy, 541-737-0023, [email protected]; Natalia Fernandez, [email protected]

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