At the founding of the Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project in September 2015 we decided to focus on two core initiatives: Archives and Oral Histories. Recognizing that regional museums, libraries, and archives lack historical materials related to our own local LGBTQ history, we decided that it was important for us, as a community, to build our own archive from the ground up! Here we go!
Physical Archives
The LGBTQ History Collection is a new, permanent physical archives at the Virginia Room, Roanoke Public Library (706 S. Jefferson Street SW, Roanoke, Virginia 24016). The collection was founded in December 2015. It continues to grow. It is available for public access at the Virginia Room.
See a list of some of the Highlights of the Collection!
We want this collection to grow! If you would like to donate historical LGBTQ+ materials to the archives, there are two ways to contribute to the permanent collection:
- Make an appointment with the Virginia Room to donate your materials to the LGBTQ History Collection.
- Make an appointment with History Project staff. You can bring your donation to us, or we will come to you to retrieve your donation.
Digital Archives
The Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project Digital Archives is a new, permanent digital repository for images, photographs, videos, audio files, and other media related to our local and regional LGBTQ+ history. The collection was founded in December 2015. The Digital Archives site is publicly accessible to all, and everyone is invited to participate by uploading their own content. LGBTQ+ History Project members will moderate content to make sure it is appropriate to our collecting mission and that it also conforms to our Policy on Protecting the Privacy of Third Parties.