Leather Archives & Museum: 25 Years

BDSM/leather/alternative sex communities
as well as history and archival communities
about the importance of identity and cultural
formation connected to radical sexuality.
LA&M collections will continue to uncover
the relevance, interdisciplinary historical
impact, enduring value, and significance of
alternative sexuality within scholarship,
academics, and alternative sex communities
alike. Therefore, work with archival holdings
at the LA&M means approaching every
collection with respect and honor,
recognizing the specific needs of those
holdings on a micro level, and
understanding the interrelatedness of these
collections and their context on a macro
level.
rehousing to foldering, encapsulation,
integrating materials into archival sleeves,
metadata structures, catalog records,
digitization, volunteer and intern
management, completion of collectionsbased
projects, exhibits, and processing—
the archive at the LA&M is an active,
meaningful, and crucial part of the LA&M’s
mission and vision.
Archival work at the LA&M is emotional,
physical, and cerebral. The core values of
archivists are access and use, accountability,
advocacy, diversity, history and
memory, preservation, professionalism,
responsible custody, selection, service, and
Sexuality collections are compelling many
institutions to examine how certain histories
have experienced archival silencing and/or
erasure; the LA&M collections have
furthered the conversations and reexamination
of evidence, documentation,
and value of historical materials. Community
museums, libraries, and archives are pivotal
in this shift. Digital access to these
(formerly) hidden collections, including
associated metadata and controlled
vocabulary used to describe these
materials, provide dialogue and clarity within
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