California’s LGBTQ+ History Grant
The California State Library is pleased to offer the Preservation and Accessibility of California’s LGBTQ+ History grant program.
The State of California has allocated a total of $750,000 toward projects that work to preserve and make publicly accessible Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer archives. This grant program expands a previous LGBTQ preservation program that was funded by the State of California in 2019.
The program will award one-time grants for projects at institutions of all sizes from large archival institutions with a global reach to smaller, localized collections.
The history of the LGBTQ+ community and movement in California is complex and encompasses a variety of ethnicities, races, and socio-economic groups, and spans multiple generations. The Preservation and Accessibility of California’s LGBTQ+ History grant program aims to preserve and make accessible materials that demonstrate the significant role of LGBTQ+ Californians and the LGBTQ+ movement in this state. By preserving and making these resources available to others, the funded projects will help provide a more comprehensive, inclusive view of California’s history.
Timeline
- November 15, 2021: Applications open
- January 7, 2022 5:00 pm: Applications due
- February 2022: Award letters issued
Grant Amounts
Applicants may request between $5,000 and $150,000. Proposed projects should be scalable in case the amount offered to grantees is lower than the amount requested.
Please note: The amount of funding requested must reflect the scope of the project being proposed.
To Apply
Visit the Preservation and Accessibility of California’s LGBTQ+ Archives grant program online application in Submittable.
For Planning Purposes Only
- Word Document (showing application questions for informational purposes)
- Application Instructions
- Grant Guidelines (PDF)
To be Uploaded with your Application
Deadline to apply is 5:00pm on Friday, January 7, 2022
Contact
Please send any questions regarding the grant program or application process to LGBTQArchivesGrant@library.ca.gov.
Eligibility and Requirements
Organization Eligibility
- Applicant organizations must be California-based.
- Project proposals from organizations of all sizes will be considered.
- Eligible organizations include but are not limited to: public libraries, academic institutions, archives, or libraries, historical societies, archives, museums, museum libraries, local governments, and other not-for-profit organizations.
Project Requirements
This competitive grant program will fund projects that support the physical and digital preservation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer materials relevant to the LGBTQ+ movement, culture, experience, and/or history in California. Successful applicants will not only preserve relevant historical materials but also demonstrate how they will make their collection available and accessible to researchers, their communities, and the public at large.
The collections to be preserved must be based in California, must relate to California LGBTQ+ history and culture, and must be accessible to the public. They must also be materials of research value, which can include monographs, serials, manuscripts, archival materials, maps, architectural drawings, sound recordings, photographs, moving images and newspapers. This funding is not for the preservation of works of art on paper, paintings, sculpture or other objects.
Applicants will be asked to explain the significance of their collections, the current conditions and housing of their collections, why the preservation or other methods that the project intends to employ are appropriate, any information about previous collections assessments, and the demand for access to collections, including demand for online access.
Projects should be grounded in the principles of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. For more information on these items please see the Grant Guidelines attached above.
Previously Funded Preserving California’s LGBTQ History Grant Projects (2019–2020, AB 74)
| Organization | Project Title | Grant Amount | Abstract |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center for LGBTQ & Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS) – Pacific School of Religion | CLGS Metropolitan Community Churches Project | $12,832 | A preservation assessment of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches Collection, and a pilot preservation project based on the findings of the assessment. |
| GLBT Historical Society | LGBTQ Archives Preservation and Digitization | $139,000 | A collection processing and digitization project that processes an additional 25% of the current collection, implements a new Digital Asset Management System, and prioritizes at-risk materials for digitization and complete digitization for selected materials. |
| June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives | We’re Here to Stay: Preserving the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives | $23,000 | A preservation and capacity-building project that is developing best practices and policies for volunteers and researchers and providing professional development to help volunteers learn and create a community support network. |
| Lambda Archives of San Diego | Lambda Preservation Suite Project | $127,797 | A preservation and digitization project focusing on oversized materials documenting historical events related to the LGBTQ community in San Diego and Northern Baja California. The project includes assessment and quality control of collection images, the creation of metadata, and the uploading of the collection into San Diego State University’s online library. |
| San Francisco Public Library/Friends and Foundation of SFPL | Preserving LGBTQ Historical Highlights | $7,020 | A digitization project focusing on a selection of high-demand and physically at-risk LGBTQ archival materials from the San Francisco Public Library’s LGBTQIA and San Francisco History Centers. The digitization projects complement physical preservation work being completed on portions of these digitized collections. |
| The Outwords Archive, Inc. | California’s LGBTQ Pioneers and Elders: A Timeless & Invaluable Resource | $22,965 | A processing and accessibility project that makes available 28 interviews on a digital platform. The project also publicizes the Archive’s collections and resources with an emphasis on reaching younger California residents and those living in rural areas. |
| UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center | Preserving Joteria: Rehousing the Gronk and Cyclona Papers | $11,400 | A project to preserve and properly house over 70 linear feet of materials from the personal papers of Glugio “Gronk” Nicandro and Robert “Cyclona” Legorreta. The collections document Nicandro’s and Legorreta’s work and life as queer Chicano artists in Los Angeles, from the 1960s to the early 2000s |
| University of California, San Francisco Library | Documenting the LGBTQ Health Equity Movement in California | $14,986 | A preservation project focusing on processing and partial digitization of two collections documenting the LGBTQ health equity movement in California: the San Francisco AIDS Foundation Magnet Program Records and the UCSF LGBT Resource Center Records. |
| University of Southern California, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries | You Are Not Alone: Preserving LGBTQ+ Liberation Movements in California | $141,000 | A project that arranges, describes, and preserves the records and personal papers of organizations and individuals who led the way in building networks and safe spaces for diverse LGBTQ+ communities in California. The project includes the Archive’s eight highest-priority unprocessed archival collections that document how LGBTQ+ communities built networks, created spaces, and nurtured chosen families in the struggle for civil rights |
Onyx: Black Lesbian Newsletter, February / March 1984. Volume III, Number 1. From the GLBT Historical Society, Periodicals Collection.
Onyx: Black Lesbian Newsletter, April / May 1984. Volume III, Number 2. From the GLBT Historical Society, Periodicals Collection.
Onyx: Black Lesbian Newsletter, August / September 1983. Volume II, Number 4. From the GLBT Historical Society, Periodicals Collection.
Contribution from Lambda Archives of San Diego.