Archives Working Group Launches Free Workshop Program 

By Al Bersch and Marjorie Bryer

In May, the Archives Working Group (AWG) of the GLBT Historical Society launched a new workshop program to provide free archival skills training to the public. Workshops will focus on the basics of processing and preservation, digitization, and collection development and estate planning. The AWG will also be accepting topics proposed by community members interested in archives and archiving.

The AWG advises and supports the society’s director of archives and special collections and archives staff. Members include both staff members and volunteer archivists and historians. The group meets monthly, and members also assist with archival work, such as processing, description and preservation.

Community members often ask AWG members and archives staff for information about archival practices and activities. The idea of creating a workshop program surfaced during a brainstorming session on how to best connect people in the community with the resources and expertise of the GLBT Historical Society’s staff and volunteers. We decided to channel requests for information into a formal process, wherein community members can request free workshops on specific topics, such as archiving personal collections and digitization projects. We hope the program will provide participants with practical knowledge that can be applied to archiving LGBTQ history wherever efforts are taking place in the community. We also hope to grow the base of volunteers and members supporting the archives at GLBT Historical Society.

The event series kicked off with a behind-the-scenes virtual tour of the archives on May 13. The online event featured Kelsi Evans, director of archives and special collections; Isaac Fellman, reference archivist; and Megan Needels, project archivist. Along with AWG members, the staff led a virtual tour of the archives, and walked attendees through the daily processes involved in preserving LGBTQ historical material. Presenters also highlighted some favorites from the collection, including the Queer Blue Light videotapes, Elsa Gidlow papers, and Onyx: Black Lesbian Newsletter. 

The event ended with an invitation to propose topics for the workshop series. We received a few questions from the audience focused on film and audiocassette digitization—perhaps suggesting interest in a future workshop on these topics!

If the workshop series piques your interest, we would love to hear from you! Please use this form to submit proposals, and check this page for updates.

Al Bersch is a metadata and systems librarian at the California Historical Society. He has been volunteering with the GLBT Historical Society since 2013, and is the current chair of the Archives Working Group.

Marjorie Bryer is an archivist at the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley. She has been volunteering at the GLBT Historical Society since 1999 and has served as board co-chair and managing archivist.