The New York Public Library will be closed from May 25 to May 27.
International Gay Information Center.
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Parts of the collection are restricted until 2043 and 2055.
Restricted access; Manuscripts and Archives Division; Permit must be requested at the division indicated.
Researchers must use cassette copies of sound recordingsand moving images.
The collection documents the gay liberation movement in New York City and America from the 1950s to the 1980s. Included are records of the Gay Activists Alliance, the Gay Alliance of Brooklyn, Gay Switchboard of New York, theMattachine Society Inc. of New York, and records of miscellaneous organizations including Christopher Street That New Magazine, Inc., and the periodicals Gaysweek, andNew York Native. Personal papers include papers of LockettFord Ballard, Jr., Arthur Bell, Billy Wilder Blackwell, Perry Brass, Robert Clement, Don Jackson, Walter Porczak, and Sam Staggs. There are also miscellaneous records of IGIC, including correspondence, minutes, memoranda, photographs of gay rights demonstrations, scripts of playsby gay writers, and printed ephemera issued by gay, lesbian and AIDS organizations in the United States.
Audiovisual materials include recorded interviews with gayleaders such as Hal (Harold) Call, Curtis Dewees, FranklinKameny, James Kepner, Morris Kight, Henry (Harry) Hay, Dorr Legg, and Donald Lucas, which chronicle the history of early gay and lesbian organizations such as the Mattachine Society, One, Inc., the Daughters of Bilitis, the Society for Individual Rights, and the Gay Liberation Front. There are also sound recordings of a number of radio and television programs on gay-related issues, most of which were broadcast on Pacifica Radio stations in the early 1980s. These record news and issues of concern to the gay community, such as bias crimes, homophobia, and the spread of AIDS. In addition, the collection includes recordings of lectures, conferences, public forums, and other meetings organized by gay and lesbian groups, some of which include performances by gay entertainers. Most ofthese gatherings took place in the New York City area in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Audiovisual materials also include television programs (and outtakes) produced in theearly 1970s for broadcast on Open Channel, a public accesscable channel in New York City. In addition, there are two erotic films, and a documentary entitled, "A Gay View/Male," which was released in 1974.
The International Gay Information Center, Inc. (IGIC) was founded in New York City in 1982 for the purpose of collecting and preserving historical records and papers which document the movement for gay rights in America. Since its founding the IGIC has collected the records oforganizations and the papers of individuals who have been active in the gay rights movement.It has also collected and preserved an extensive file of gay periodicals and imprints; audio-visual materials; and a large mass of printed and near-printed ephemera which document the social and political activities and events of local gay organizations and groups in various cities throughout America. Since its founding John Hammond has served as president, and Bruce Eves as vice-president and treasurer.
Shadows (1826). NYPL Art and Architecture Collection.
One of 700,000 pictures in the NYPL Digital Gallery
