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Lavender Legacies Guide: United States: Washington

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King County Archives
Address: 1215 East Fir Street
Seattle, WA 98122-5424
Phone: (206) 296-1538
Fax: (206) 205-1399 Email: archives@kingcounty.gov
Web: http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/archives.aspx
Contact: County Archivist Deborah Kennedy

History: The Prevention Division of the Seattle-King County (Washington) Public Health Department currently (2011) operates programs in the areas of health protection and promotion. Protection programs are fundamental and statutorily defined responsibilities and powers to protect the public’s health, including tracking disease; preventing and treating communicable diseases; preparation and response to natural and human-made disasters. Promotion programs work to prevent chronic conditions such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, promote health, and prevent injuries.
The records in this collection document the development and continuing operation of HIV/AIDS prevention programs in Seattle and King County, Washington.
The first program began in 1983 as the AIDS Prevention Project (APP) in the Public Health Department's Regional Division. It was the second city/county-funded AIDS program established in the United States. The APP was simultaneously known as the AIDS Prevention Unit (APU) and the AIDS Control Program. In 1986 Robert (Bob) Wood, M.D., a Gay man, became the director of the AIDS Control Program and medical director of the APP. Dr. Wood also took an active role in HIV/AIDS research and his expertise became nationally recognized. A 1989 departmental reorganization resulted in (1) AIDS epidemiology staff moving to the Regional Division epidemiology section and (2) Community AIDS Services Unit (CASU) becoming a sister unit to APP. CASU focused on management of programs and funds for community-based projects, while the APP addressed services and education. In 1996 the AIDS Program became a part of the Prevention Division which in turn had succeeded the Regional Division.
During this period, the HIV/AIDS program also worked with other departmental units, health care agencies, educational institutions and community organizations to provide prevention, research and care services related to HIV-AIDS. Program activities and grant-funded projects addressed both care and prevention. Care initiatives included a program to develop a continuum of health and social support services for persons with AIDS; and a program to coordinate service delivery by linking public health primary care clinics, community health clinics, community drug treatment centers and HIV/AIDS programs. APP prevention efforts included outreach initiatives conducted through surveys; hypodermic-needle exchange and bleach distribution to injection drug users; media campaigns; studies, in collaboration with community-based organizations, of community health outreach worker (CHOW) and community organizing outreach models; and programs targeting hard-to-reach populations such as street youth, prostitutes and non-gay identified men who have sex with men. APP also addressed controversial issues such as condom distribution, hypodermic-needle exchanges with injection drug users, and confidential reporting of AIDS incidence.
Throughout the years, a number of legislative and funding initiatives significantly impacted regional administration of HIV/AIDS services. Washington State AIDS Omnibus legislation in 1988 provided HIV/AIDS funding and established policy and procedure regulations for HIV testing, training, and education.

Current holdings: size and content
HIV-AIDS PROGRAM RECORDS: PREVENTION DIVISION, SEATTLE-KING COUNTY (WASHINGTON) PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, 1982-2010.
This collection is currently represented by two increments: a processed group of several series (1983-2000) and an unprocessed accession of later records that continue through 2010. Both increments are open to the public. Total collection size is 52.23 cu.ft.

Processed series:
Publications and presentations files, 1983-1998
This series contains educational and informational materials sponsored by the AIDS Prevention Project (APP) through its outreach and prevention programming efforts. It is divided into two subseries, publications and presentations. The publications subseries includes articles, newsletters, brochures, manuscripts, reports and a videotape. The presentations subseries includes studies, lectures, transparency graphics, conference documents, media files and a videotape. Lectures by Robert (Bob) Wood, M.D., Director of AIDS Control, constitute the bulk of this subseries. [3.57 cu.ft.]
Project files, 1984-1998
This series documents administrative and program activities of the HIV/AIDS Program (originally called the AIDS Prevention Project). The records provide information about the program's prevention, education, counseling and testing policies and services. Administrative records include files on division, staff and committee meetings and retreats; goals and objectives; planning, funding, and statistics. Program records include files on needle exchange, testing issues, and questionnaires and studies. Some records also relate to both administrative policy and programmatic procedures (e.g., HIV reporting and exposure). Record types include memoranda, correspondence, minutes, articles, reports, charts and forms. [10.4 cu.ft.]
Organizations files, 1985-1998
This series documents independent and collaborative activities of twenty-nine organizations affiliated with the AIDS Prevention Project, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. Files are present both for departmental community advisory groups and for local, regional, state and national organizations, principally AIDSNET and the HIV/AIDS Planning Council. Record types include minutes, agendas, correspondence, memoranda, brochures, articles and reports. [5.65 cu.ft.]
Grant files, 1985-2000
This series documents grant project activities of the AIDS Prevention Unit and the Community AIDS Services Unit, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, between 1985 and 1997. It is divided into subseries by type of funding source: federal government, state government, local government, and private (foundation and organizational) sources. Record types for all subseries include applications, correspondence, memoranda, studies, brochures and data reports. The federal subseries consists principally of records of two large grant projects:
(1) Community Based Demonstration Project for AIDS Prevention and Risk Reduction in King County (1985-1994), funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
(2) Control AIDS Through Community Health Outreach Now Project (CATCH-ON; 1988-1992) funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
The CDC project covered research, intervention, and evaluation processes for the study of various risk groups. The NIDA project promoted community organizing in Seattle neighborhoods and among community groups such as People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) among others. The state subseries contains files about Washington State AIDS Omnibus funding.
The local projects subseries consists primarily of grant applications submitted to the Community AIDS Services Unit for appraisal by the Health Department based on priorities for programs set by the HIV/AIDS Planning Council. The subseries for privately funded projects includes files for those sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the U. S. Conference of Mayors, which address health services and outreach to risk groups. A few miscellaneous project files are also present. [11.44 cu.ft.]
Correspondence files, 1986-1997
This series contains incoming and outgoing correspondence of staff members of the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health. The bulk of records are those of Robert (Bob) Wood, M.D., Director of AIDS Control. They include letters, memoranda, invitations, articles, dockets, reports and background documents concerning legislation, committee memberships, grants, procedures, programs and proposals. Correspondents include health department staff, government officials, legislators, citizens, complainants, and representatives of educational institutions and community agencies. [4.61 cu. ft.]
Departmental files, 1986-1997
This series documents Seattle-King County Department of Public Health policies affecting the AIDS Program, department policies regarding AIDS, and the participation of some program staff with department activities. Record types include memoranda, correspondence, minutes, articles, forms and notes. [ .23 cu. ft.]
Studies and reports files, 1986-1998
This series includes local, state and federal documents that reflect research on HIV/AIDS risk, prevention, services, epidemiology and funds. The documents contain statistical data, project narratives, thesis work and survey results. Document sponsors include the AIDS Prevention Project, the Seattle-King County and Washington State Health Departments, and the University of Washington. [.9 cu. ft.]
Legislative files, 1987-1988
The HIV/AIDS Program (formerly the AIDS Prevention Program, or APP), Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, maintained files tracking government sponsored legislation impacting HIV/AIDS funding, procedures and APP positions on issues. The files in the series contain correspondence, bills, articles and newsletters relating to general subjects (AIDS education, prevention, housing and health care) and specific topics (hypodermic needle exchange, Washington State omnibus funding, and funding under the federal Ryan White CARE Act). [1.04 cu.ft.]

Unprocessed accession A10-051
The 14.39 cubic feet in this accession contain: HIV/AIDS Program historical overview materials (timeline, staff roster, bibliography and oral history: 1982-2010); early program documents (1982-1989) relating to community outreach and organizing, and establishment of the program; staff members’ program files (1985-1995); CDC Demonstration Project progress reports (1985-1995); HIV/AIDS epidemiology reports (electronic and hard copies); materials from early trainings and workshops: schools and health care professionals (1986-1989); early training materials for AIDS information hotline staff (1986-1995); program collaborations (1990-1995); program planning (1989-2010); MTM Task Force (men who have sex with men; 1993, 2003); photographs in albums and loose photographs (images including outreach activities at annual LGBT Pride events ,1985-2009); examples of education and outreach materials (Be A Star, Stella Seattle comic strip, True Stories, condom campaign, Little Prick campaign [finger-prick HIV testing], transgender outreach; African-American Men’s prevention campaign (1986-2008); locally produced videotapes (training and conferences held in Seattle); oversized outreach materials (posters, photo displays); oversized posters from presentations made at scientific conferences; banners.

Collection growth:
The King County Archives receives material created or collected by county agencies as part of King County’s official records management program. Transfers of material to the Archives are governed by state-approved records retention schedules. We do not solicit donations of non-county material. As noted above, we received a second increment of HIV-AIDS Program records in 2010. A third increment of electronic records is pending. We consider the HIV-AIDS Program records to be one of our strongest collections and welcome additions to it.

Access and use:
1. Holdings of the King County Archives are open to the public weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. There are no special restrictions on using the HIV-AIDS Program records.
2. Use of materials in all of our historical collections is by appointment only.
3. Our site is wheelchair-accessible.

Services:
1. Research room on site.
2. Reference assistance on site.
3. Limited telephone reference (about 30 minutes per inquiry).
4. Internet reference (link to Archives from Web site); limited e-mail reference (about 30 minutes per inquiry).
5. Copying services: staff will make photocopies ($.15 per page) and scan photographs ($3.00 per image). Media duplication, oversize duplication, and traditional photographic reproduction are handled by outside vendors with costs passed on to customers. Research clients are encouraged to bring personal digital cameras to make images at no charge. Use of personal scanners may be approved on a case-by-case basis.
6. Research clients can view VHS tapes and DVDs, and listen to cassette tapes and CDs, at the Archives.
7. Use of material for exhibits will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Indices to the collection:
Processed series (1983-2000): Folder lists for each series can be found attached via hyperlinks to the King County Archives Web site for health records: http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/archives/health.aspx#7228AB74EA7346E7A237BB6B826F9AB0
Unprocessed accession A10-051 (1982-2010): Box content summaries prepared by Prevention Division staff are available by contacting the Archives.
The Archives maintains a searchable in-house collections database. Archives staff can undertake specific searches for research clients upon request.

Updating collection descriptions:
The King County Archives endeavors to keep researchers informed about all major new acquisitions, usually when archival processing is completed. Ways in which we have done this include: updating our Web site, preparing newsletter articles, preparing exhibits (the HIV-AIDS Program records were featured in a 2010 Archives Month display), and circulating information among local archivists and historical communities. The Archives maintains professional contacts with local LGBT historians and has undertaken targeted outreach to LGBT history groups.

Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Museum Project
Address: 1122 East Pike St.
PMB #797
Seattle, WA 98122
Phone: (206) 903-9517
Contact: Ruth Pettis
Email: gayhistnw@aol.com
Internet address: http://home.earthlink.net/~ruthpett/lgbthistorynw/index.htm
Collecting areas: The Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Museum Project conducts oral histories with members of local/regional LGBT population and their supporters, collects images of venues, people, and events associated with local/regional LGBT history, and does limited collecting of flyers, posters, newsletters, and other documents.

Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives
Address:PO Box 27671
Seattle, WA 98165
Telephone: (206) 654-4477
Contact: Lisa Cohen
E-mail: info@pnwlesbianarchives.org
Web: http://www.pnwlesbianarchives.org
Contacts: Lisa Lotus: lisa@pnwlesbianarchives.org
Nicole Robert: nicole@pnwlesbianarchives.org
Emily Glenn: emily@pnwlesbianarchives.org

History: Lisa Lotus founded this organization in 2005. It is affiliated with the Washington State Historical Society (collection located in Tacoma, WA.). The Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives (PNLA) gathers, preserves and shares primary source materials of lesbians to enhance public and scholarly understanding of our diverse, regional herstory; bringing our herstory out of obscurity to promote learning, visibility and community strength.

Current Holdings:
Approximately 100 linear feet. Contains club and organizational records from the Lesbian Resource Center, Seattle Women’s Ensemble, Dyke Action, Dyke Community Activists, Push Magazine and several small collections of individual’s personal papers, graphics and artifacts
1. Manuscript material (personal papers): ~5 LINEAR FT
2. Film, video, or sound: AUDIO TAPES (1 LF)
3. Organization's records: AROUND 50 LF
4. Photographs: .5 LF
5. Printed (books, journals, etc.): ~5 LF
6. Microfilm: NONE
7. Clippings or vertical files: 1LF
8. Objects and ephemera (key chains, bumper tickers, graffiti, t-shirts, etc.): 10 LF
9. Other (please specify): SILHOUETTES FROM MARCHES AND VIGILS-10 LARGE CUT OUT FIGURES, BANNERS, TROPHIES, T-SHIRTS, GIVE AWAY ITEMS
10. What specific time period(s) and geographical region(s) do the holdings cover? 1960-PRESENT
11. What significant people, organizations and subjects are documented in the material?: MOSTLY POLITICAL LESBIANS IN SEATTLE DURING THE 1970’S. SEVERAL POSTERS OF WELL KNOWN LESBIAN MUSICIANS, LESBIANS AND PRINTING/GRAPHICS, CHORAL MUSIC

Collection Growth:
The organization is willing and able to assume curatorial responsibility for additional material that relates to lesbians in the Pacific Northwest: Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, or British Columbia. We try to weed duplicates and do not accept photocopies unless original is promised.

Access and Use: We currently do not have requirements for using the organization's materials. Upon receipt of collections, PNLA makes decisions based on donor's wishes and the institution's well being and will keep these stipulations on file.
Hours: Currently we operate by appointment only. When we get a public space, it will be wheelchair accessible.
Services: Currently, we are operating out of a private home. Will have a full suite of user services in the future.

Indices/Finding Aids: None at this time. But we place a high priority to this aspect of providing access.

Updating Collection Descriptions: Nothing in place yet, but we are planning to send notices to our email list.

University of Washington Libraries,
Manuscripts, Special Collections, University Archives
Address: Box 352900
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: (206) 543-1929
Contact: John Paul Deley, jpdeley@uwashington.edu (University Archivist); Karyl Winn, kwinn@uwashington.edu (Curator of Manuscripts); Nicolette Bromberg (Curator of Photographs and Graphics).
Email: mssarch@u.washington.edu
Internet address:  http://www.lib.washington.edu/SpecialColl/
Hours: Mon-Fri: 9 am - 5 pm; shorter hours during academic quarter breaks.
Wheelchair Access: yes
History
No formal founding, but gay and lesbian material has been a collecting focus since ca.1993. Associated with Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Museum Project.
Information about holdings
Manuscripts: 28 cubic ft.
Organizational records: 1 cubic ft.
Clippings/vertical files: yes
Film/Video/Sound: sound: yes
Photographs: yes
Other holdings/notes: Oral histories.

Time periods/geographical regions documented:
Bulk: 1960s-1995; primarily Western Washington, especially the Seattle area.

Significant People/organizations/subjects documented:
Gay and lesbian (and anti-gay) political activity, Seattle Gay Alliance, Dorian Group, Mattachine Society of Los Angeles, John M. Eccles, Jody Aliesan literary manuscripts, Hands Off Washington Campaign (1994), and the Hidden History project.
Collecting interests
Late 20th-century papers, records, and photographs of and about sexual minorities in the Greater Seattle area, Western Washington, and at the University of Washington; photographs also cover early 20th-century subjects.
Use requirements
Varies depending on donor instructions. Public access to bulk of LBGT records.
Services
Research space, copying, audiovisual facilities, reference assistance on site, telephone reference, Internet reference (email/web), and loan agreements for exhibits.
Indices, finding aids, collection descriptions
Inventory/guides to larger accessions. MARC records in currently non-public database with expectation of future OCLC records.
News about collections
Accession reports to Easy Access, the newsletter of Northwest Archivists. Personal contact with Northwest Lesbian and Gay History Museum Project.

Western Washington University - Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Address: Western Washington University
MS (Mail Stop) 9123
Bellingham, WA 98225-9123 

Phone: (360) 650-7747 Fax: (360) 650-3323
Contact: Ruth Steele
E-mail: cpnws@wwu.edu
Internet: http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/cpnws/
Hours: M-F 9-12 and 1-4.30pm (May vary – contact for details or to set up an appointment).
Wheelchair access: yes
History: Our glbt collections are a recent acquisition
Information about holdings:
We have approximately 9 cubic feet of glbt records ranging from fully processed to semi-processed to unprocessed. Many of the collections are made up of event flyers, and programs, advertisements, pamphlets, and other ephemera. There are some photographs, two videotapes, several audiotapes, and one business journal/notebook. We also house the organizational records of two local defunct glbt political and social groups.

Collections: The Robert Ashworth Collection - Robert Ashworth is a politically active member of the gay and lesbian community in Bellingham. Some of his work includes a compiled group of papers documenting the activities of the Sexual Minority Center, a student association at Western Washington University. The collection consists of the group's by-laws, posters, newsletter, press releases, correspondence, budget and financial records, an audiotape of a WWSC gay symposium on KMGI radio's Impact show, and memorabilia. This collection is a rich resource for the study of gender and sexuality and gay and lesbian political activity in the Pacific Northwest region in the 1970's. Gay and Lesbian Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection - This collection consists of information about events and activities in the Bellingham and Whatcom County gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The collection currently contains several miscellaneous manuscripts (notes, minutes, and contact information) about a traveling women's coffeehouse, circa early 1990's, an incomplete run of a local lesbian publication called "The L Word"", circa early mid-1990's. There are also several Pacific Northwest Women's Music & Cultural Jamboree programs circa early-1990's. Hands off Washington Collection - The organization Hands off Washington (H.O.W.) was created to defeat Washington State initiatives 608 and 610 that threatened the civil rights of state and local public employees based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation. The collection consists of the organization's financial records, press releases, fundraising events, e-mails, office logs, pamphlets, newsletter and other printed materials, state level strategies, other like-minded groups, subject files relating to gay and lesbian issues, videotapes, audiotapes, opposition files and newspaper clippings, letters to the editor (for and against) the initiatives and gay and lesbian rights, workshop information, and speakers. The collection also includes copies of Washington State initiatives 608 and 610.
Collecting Interests: Collections focus on organizations and individuals in the Pacific Northwest including the band Motherlode, Hands off Washington, as well as Bellingham and WWU groups.

Diverse Sexuality and Gender Section