ONE Archives at the USC Libraries

A terrific resource for academics, independent scholars, and others conducting queer history research. The archivists are kind and knowledgable. A real gem!

Incredible collections and a friendly, professional, helpful staff.

It's GLBT History archives

ONE Archives has everything I was expecting and more.

Great, important archive, great people!

I'm not sure what was going on when I went there Friday morning 7.26.24 an hour after opening . I was so excited to go for a school midterm paper to research queer history. I'm a trans woman and our history in particular is often forgotten. I was told I needed an appointment to access archives .They looked like they just moved in . I was pointed to a half empty book shelf and told that was all that was open to the public, with one book with a chapter on "transsexuals". That and a small exhibit room the size of a walk in closet . It was my first time there , no one showed me around . It looked like a sad library not at all what I was expecting. Am I missing something? So disappointed Where's all the cool queer history I heard about ?!

"ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries is the largest repository of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) materials in the world. Founded in 1952, ONE Archives currently houses over two million archival items including periodicals, books, film, video and audio recordings, photographs, artworks, organizational records, and personal papers. ONE Archives has been a part of the University of Southern California Libraries since 2010." I'm on the One Gay & Lesbian Archives e-mail list so the announcement of Jiraiya (gee rah ee ya), a Japanese Manga/cartoon artist, whose depictions of massively muscled, bull-necked, burly, sturdy, strapping, masculine Japanese men, caught my eye. To me his style reminds me of touches of elements of Botero of South America with large, zoftig, good natured whimsical figures combined with the power, masculinity, & brotherly love presented by Tom of Finland. Of course, the majority of Jiraiya's aethetic is based on Japanese sensibility & manner, and the pictures exude ultra masculine, aggressive attitude, but they also show a tender, loving, brotherly/fatherly benevolence. Technically, his pictures exhibit an accurate photo realism that shows fine detail & workmanship that requires long hours to attain. His manga story illustrations reminds me of the more graphic comic style of Bill Schmeling, "The Hun", where humorous men-to-men rutting is depicted in all its power & raunchy intensity & glory. However, Jiraiya with a droll smile told the audience at the One Institute that his comics, read by his largely male Gay public, were equivalent to reading of the Harlequin romantic novels. To be on the e-mail list for future events , send a message to askone@usc.edu

I visited ONE last Friday for the first time and had a lovely experience. I heard about this amazing place through Visions and Voices, USC's Arts and Humanities Initiative. I wanted to go check out the Hector Silva art exhibit running until May 12th... and let me tell ya- it was amazing!!! --------------- From their website: The ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives honors the past, celebrates the present, and enriches the future of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. We foster acceptance of sexual and gender diversity by supporting education and research about our heritage and experience worldwide. ONE is dedicated to collecting, preserving, documenting, studying, and communicating our history, our challenges, and our aspirations. ONE is affiliated with but not governed by the University of Southern California. ONE relies wholly on community and corporate support. --------------- ONE is the world's largest research library and archive devoted to LGBT issues, and with a history that spans more than six decades- it is also proud to be the oldest LGBT organization in the Western Hemisphere. ONE has an extensive library with nearly 30,000 print volumes, 1,500 films, 3,000 videos, 1,000 audiotapes, 7,000 periodical magazine and journal titles, and nearly 50,000 distinct files containing newspaper clippings, journal and magazine articles, brochures, and other printed materials relating to all aspects of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. ONE is an amazing resource for the entire Los Angeles community!!!! Their doors are open to the public during visiting hours, and their collection may be viewed free of charge! They were incredibly welcoming and helpful during my visit... I'll be glad to be back again anytime I'm doing research or just want to check some of their amazing selections and art out!

Get in touch with your history. This is the closest to a gay museum you'll get around here. There is a permanent exhibit downstairs and you can look up all sorts of stuff if you're researching and the archivists are more than helpful. They also do monthly cultural series programs that will put you in touch with the history of queer culture. I bet you don't usually think about it, but the gays have roots too.

I needed a quiet place to work and found out this place closes at 9pm on Thursdays, here I am. The entrance is at the back of the building. The second floor is neat (has photographs of Gay historical need to know folks). I met Kyle, the Librarian tonight and he was very helpful even though I just needed a place to use their WI-Fi and quiet area to work on projects. To be continued.....