New Collection Guide for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Center (GLBT) Records

This post contributed by Laura Lethers.

The Special Collections Research Center is pleased to announce that an updated collection guide for the North Carolina State University, Office of the Provost, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Center (GLBT) Records (UA 005.073) is now available online. The collection includes physical and digital materials that document the progress of the LGBTQ+ community on campus and the history and function of the GLBT Center at NC State University, starting with student groups in 1978 to the Center in its current form in 2019. 

The GLBT Center here at NC State University is the culmination of many years of hard work on the part of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies both within the student body and among the faculty and staff. The collection includes multiple iterations of the proposal written for the Center in the early 2000s, which was supported by decades of student experiences and years of research. Also included are campus climate surveys that were conducted as part of the research for the proposal and used to demonstrate the need for such a center on campus. The GLBT Center opened its doors formally in January 2008 as the second of its kind within the UNC System. After a few years of moving the Center into progressively larger spaces, the Center found its permanent home in the renovated Talley Student Union. 

Over the years, the Center has hosted countless programs and events for the NC State University community include GLBT History Month, Transgender Awareness Week, the GLBT Symposium, Project SAFE Trainings, Alternative Spring Break, and the Lavender Graduation. The Center regularly sponsors workshops and makes resources available to students related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. In particular, Project SAFE Trainings are tailored according to the audience. There are handbooks for each training within the collection, including iterations for faculty, one for students, and one for allies to the LGBTQ+ community as well. Each of the faculty and student trainings are meticulously researched and tested, and there are many examples of the evolution of these trainings throughout the collection. The Center's dedication to social justice is also prevalent in the collection through research and materials related to the Preferred Name Initiative, Don't Ask Don't Tell, House Bill 2, gender neutral bathrooms, and the Trans-Inclusive Housing Working Group. 

For those interested in the history of the LGBTQ+ community on campus, there are a few materials in the collection from some of the earliest LGBTQ+ organizations on campus during the 1980s. The names of these early organizations include the Gay and Lesbian Christian Alliance, NCSU (State) Gay Community or the SGC, and the State Gay and Lesbian Community, among others. 

If you would like to learn more, please visit our GLBT Community timeline or explore additional primary sources in our digital collections. For a list of more resources in Special Collections that document GLBT history please check out this previous blog post as well.

The Special Collections Research Center is open by appointment only. Appointments are available Monday–Friday, 9am–6pm and Saturday, 1pm–5pm. Requests for a Saturday appointment must be received no later than Tuesday of the same week. If you have any questions or are interested in viewing Special Collections materials, please contact us at library_specialcollections@ncsu.edu or submit a request online.