Lavender Legacies Guide: United States: Florida

Stonewall Library and Archives
Location: 1717 North Andrews Avenue
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33311-4813
Phone: (954) 763-8565

E-mail: info@stonewall-library.org
Contact: Rob Nathans, President; Steve Kerr, Librarian; Paul Fasana, Archivist

Internet Address: http://www.stonewall-library.org
Hours: M-F 11 am-9pm; Saturday 12-3.
Wheelchair Access: yes
History
Founded as the Stonewall Library in 1973 by Mark Silber, the library joined with the Southern Gay Archives (founded by Joel Starkey) in 1990, and reincorporated as Stonewall Library and Archives. The organization has 501c3 status; by-laws, statement of purpose and mission statement are available on request.
Information about holdings
Printed material: 10,000 books (library and special collections) and approximately 1,400 serial titles.
Other holdings/notes: There are approximately 75 cubic feet of processed archival collections and another 350 cubic feet of unprocessed materials, consisting of organizational records, personal papers, ephemera, periodicals, artifacts, photographs, and clipping files. There are also approxmately 40 linear feet of vertical files. Holdings also include videotapes, audio cassettes, posters, artworks, photographs, film, rare books, pulp fiction collection, and other items.

Time periods/geographical regions documented:
Southeast US (east of Houston, south of Washington) generally, and Florida/South Florida in particular, from the 1950s to the present.

Significant People/organizations/subjects documented:
People: Mark Silberand Joel Starkey. Organizations: Dolphin Democratic Club, Sunshine Athletic Association, GLSEN and more; Anita Bryant campaign (1977-1978). The Southern Gay Archives collection documents gay and lesbian organizations and gay rights movement in the Southeastern US in the 1970s and 1980s, along with related issues of feminism, socialism, prisoners' rights, mental health rights, etc. Regional periodicals and bar rags chronicle gay and lesbian social life, particularly in South Florida.
Collecting interests
Published and archival materials in all formats relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture and history, with emphasis on materials relating to the Southeast (i.e. east of Houston, TX and south of Washington, D.C.
Use requirements
Archival collections are open to the public under supervision; membership is required to check out books.
Services
Research space, copying, exhibitions, reference assistance on site, telephone reference, and borrowing privileges for individuals.

Indices, finding aids, collection descriptions
All books are catalogued on a local computer database. There are basic finding aids for processed archival collections.
News about collections
Newsletter, ARCHEION, monthly.

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