Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA) Periodicals collection, 1962-1994

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Summary

Creator:
Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance
Abstract:
The Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA) was a grassroots lesbian feminist activist organization founded in 1972 and disbanded in 1994. The ALFA Periodicals Collection, dated 1962-1994, contains over 800 grassroots newsletter and journal titles from feminist, LGBT, and other activist groups primarily located in the Southeast but also including titles from around the U.S. and abroad. Many of the titles are now ephemeral and not found in any library. The collection was originally established and maintained as part of the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance's library and archives. Also included are non-regional women's and lesbian journals from the early women's movement as well as some long runs of gay newspapers published throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Extent:
70.5 Linear Feet
About 33,750 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00024

Background

Scope and content:

The ALFA Periodicals Collection, dated 1962-1994, contains over 800 grassroots newsletter and journal titles, many of which are now ephemeral and not in any library. The publications were collected by ALFA generally by means of exchange subscriptions with other lesbian, feminist, and activist groups from all over the U.S. and abroad. The periodicals cover a range of topics of interest and concern to socialist lesbian feminists. In addition to strictly lesbian and feminist publications, there is a wealth of publications from other leftist activist groups covering political and social causes from anti-nuclear weapons, to AIDS activism, to the beginnings of the men's movement. The collection helps document these various political movements as well as the issues facing the people whose task it was to document them.

Biographical / historical:

The Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA) was founded in 1972 by a group of radical lesbians, many socialist and all feminist, who broke away from Atlanta's Women's Liberation Center and the Gay Liberation movement because they felt that neither had adequately addressed issues of concern to women as lesbians and lesbians as women. ALFA initially worked to fill a social void for and to offer a political voice to Atlanta lesbians, publicizing its efforts through a self-produced monthly newsletter, the Atalanta.

Over the years, as the political and cultural climate changed and lesbians created new avenues through which to pursue their interests, ALFA struggled to find a clear and unique sense of purpose; this historically telling struggle is well-documented by ALFA itself, in minutes and mailings to its membership. In spite of its eventual decision to disband, ALFA remains known as one of the oldest lesbian feminist organizations in the United States, and a pioneer in the fight for lesbian, gay, and women's rights.

One of the activities of ALFA--deeply concerned from the outset with the preservation of lesbian "herstory"--was to build and maintain the Southern Feminist Library and Archives (SFLA). The library and archives, which provided a material link between ALFA and other progressive movements and organizations throughout the world, included the archival records of ALFA and several other southern feminist groups; a massive collection of feminist, lesbian, and activist periodicals; and a circulating library of feminist and gay and lesbian books. ALFA disbanded in 1994 after over 20 years of Southern feminist activism. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.

Acquisition information:
The Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance Periodicals Collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1994.
Processing information:

Processed by Laura Micham, David Faulds, and Ginny Daley, October 1995.

Encoded by Noah Huffman and Abraham Lee, April 2010

Accession 1994-0040 is described in this finding aid.

For the most part, the original order of the ALFA Periodicals Collection was maintained after being transferred to Duke. Minor rearrangements of some of the publications helped to reduce confusion and make the collection more easily accessible. ALFA provided their Kardex file, which documents each title and issue as they were received an logged in by the organization. The original Kardex file is available in the repository and has been checked against the collection and modified as necessary.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by title.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance Periodicals Collection, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University