Digital Collections
A digital collection (or library) is any collection of files that has been digitally preserved and is accessible on the internet or through software. A digital library may contain manuscripts, newspapers, books, journals, images, audio, and video.
In this section, we link you to specific collections that have come to our attention. You may also find links to digitized resources in our book, periodical, music, and video catalogues.
As a new archive, Wanderground understands the importance of digital access but also needs to consider the limits of our financial resources and people power. If you have experience or expertise in digital archiving, please let us know!
Please note: Digital archives are becoming more and more integral as everyone uses various web-based and social media to connect to each other and our stories. But as you might imagine, archives struggle with these opportunities as technology constantly changes – rapidly! Very often, once the initial expense is made and the collection catalogued, the technology may have become obsolete or no longer supported.
For example: Backing up your computer….from 1970’s to 2011 Floppy Disk > Zip Drives > CD-R/RW or DVD > USB Flash Drives and SD Cards > External Hard drives > Cloud Storage
Some of Our Favorite Digital Resources
Because of a Song
This online archive documents the extraordinary feminist and Lesbian music that burst forth from the heart of Oakland, CA. Curated by Holly Near.
becauseofasong.com
Lesbian Herstory Archives, Brooklyn, NY
The Lesbian Herstory Archives exists to gather and preserve records of Lesbian lives and activities. This ensures future generations will have ready access to materials relevant to their lives.
herstories.prattinfoschool.nyc
Lesbian Home Move Project, Orland, ME
LHMP exists to find, preserve, digitize, and document as much amateur film and tape made by Lesbians or depicting Lesbian lives as possible
Lesbianhomemovieproject.org
Lesbian Power Authority – Radio Show Archive
The Lesbian Power Authority (LPA), hosted by Mev Miller, aired on KFAI radio in the Twin Cities of MN from January 1994 – through July 2002. Every Sunday evening, listeners could hear 60 – 90 minutes of Lesbian words, music, and culture. The show featured music by Lesbian performers, announcements about Lesbian activities and events, interviews with Lesbian writers, activists, musicians, artists, and many others impacting Lesbian culture and lives.
litwomen.org/Lesbian-power-authority-radio-archives
Outliers and Outlaws:
The Eugene Lesbian History Project, Eugene, OR
The Eugene Lesbian History Project is a community-based, digital humanities project that preserves and shares the unique history of the Lesbian community in Eugene, Oregon. The project includes filmed oral histories with 83 narrators, a digital exhibit, and a documentary film.
blogs.uoregon.edu/outliersandoutlawsexhibit/
Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project, Online
Collecting, archiving, and celebrating oral and written stories of unsung, Southern, Lesbian-feminist activists during the second half of the twentieth century.
slfaherstoryproject.org
A Labor of Love: The History of Feminist and Lesbian Bookstores and Publishing
Written, Produced, and Narrated by Mev Miller, 1995
This radio documentary pays tribute to the work of women’s/feminist and lesbian bookstores and publishers. It was produced in 1995 to celebrate the 25 year anniversaries of:
- Publisher – The Feminist Press at CUNY in New York, NY
- Periodical – Off Our Backs: A Women’s Newsjournal in Washington, DC
- Bookstore – Amazon Bookstore in Minneapolis, MN
Interviews (in order of appearance) include:
- April Jackson – Off Our Backs
- Carol Ann Douglas – Off Our Backs
- Florence Howe – Feminist Press, CUNY
- Carol Seajay – Feminist Bookstore News
- Barb Weiser – Iowa City Women’s Press and Amazon Bookstore
- Barbara Grier – Naiad Press
- Barbara Smith – Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press
- Marj Schneider – Womyn’s Braille Press
- Jamie Lee Evans – Aunt Lute Books
- Teresa Corrigan – Lioness Books
- Donna Marie Niles – Amazon Bookstore / Lammas Bookstore
- Linda Bubon – Women and Children First
- Gilda Bruckman – New Words Bookstore
- Pokey Anderson – Inklings
- Selma Miriam – Bloodroot Feminist Vegetarian Restaurant and Bookstore / Sanguinaria Books
Musical Interludes (in order of appearance) include:
- Margie Adams – Waves
- Meg Christian – Moving Right Along
- Nona Hendryx – Can Anybody Hear Me
- Alison Farrell – I Like Being a Dyke
- Phyllis Goldin –
- One Spirit – Dance of Strength
- Anne Seale – Your Women’s Bookstore
- Libby Roderick – Inspire Me
- Margie Adams – Waves
Part 1 (27:28)
Part 2 (29:49)
For a recent and comprehensive history of feminist bookstores, see:
The Feminist Bookstore Movement: Lesbian Antiracism and Feminist Accountability, by Kristen Hogan, Duke University Press, 2016