On display in the Library Rotunda June 7 – August 7, 2024
Curated by Riya Suthar ‘24, Psychology and Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, and Lindsey Loeper, Reference and Instruction Archivist.
The Alternative Press Center (APC), a resource library for non-mainstream and independent journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and other periodical publications, was founded in 1969 – the same year as the Stonewall riots in New York City. Since its founding the APC has collected, indexed, and made accessible hundreds of publications produced by LGTBQ+ authors, activists, organizations, and communities.
Researchers can trace the continued growth, support, conflict, and language from within, and without, the queer community from 1969 to the present day. What rights and freedoms were they fighting for, how were they describing themselves and their communities, and what push back and violence did they experience from adversaries, politicians, or even their own friends and families? The publications in the APC show first hand how LGBTQ+ activists, authors, and artists wrote about themselves and how their priorities have developed over time. These publications also show the vocal history of a community that is often silenced.
View historical LGBTQ+ selections from the Alternative Press Center Collection all summer in the Library Rotunda or request specific titles in the Special Collections reading room.