Half of the collection is stored in a basement room at the Victorian AIDS Council in South Yarra (Melbourne). Some periodicals and books are in another shared room within VAC's basement complex. Other books and periodicals in less demand are stored off-site.
If you'd like to visit the Archives to use our collection, please read the important information about planning your visit.
Periodicals
There are 930 titles (over 21,000 items) in our periodicals collection. It includes newspapers, magazines and newsletters from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Japan. The Ladder and Physique magazines are on display, while William and John has been microfiched by the State Library of NSW.
- Our periodicals list (pdf, 300KB)
- Can you fill any gaps in our collection?
- We welcome feedback on our list through our comments form (pdf) or by email to algarchives @ hotmail.com
Audio
Tapes dating back to mid 1950s, radio broadcasts, conferences, speeches at public meetings and demonstrations, interviews on all types of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues ... if it has been said and recorded, there is a chance we might have it.
Videos
Feature films, documentaries, safe sex/sex education videos/films, daytime talk shows, music video clips, etc. Titles include:
- The Set, movie (Australia, prod. Frank Brittain, 1969) – the first 'gay' movie to be made in Australia
- Number 96, television series (Australia, 1972-1977) – Australia's first supersoap, and the first to feature a gay character; we hold 5 episodes as a sample of the series
Main listing (PDF, 148 KB) and listing of the Micallef donation (PDF, 43 KB)
Our video collection is held off-site. Requested videos can be retrieved for use at the Archives - please contact us, allowing a week's notice.
Posters
Listing (PDF, 310 KB), prepared by ALGA volunteer Kym.
Theses and other papers
A selection of honours, masters and PhD theses, along with a small collection of other academic research and policy papers. Listing (PDF, 44 KB)
Newspaper clippings
Over 40,000, chronologically ordered, Australia-wide, down to 2003.
Searchable on-line sources for more recent newspapers include Newsbank (available to Victorian researchers through the State Library of Victoria) and ANZNewsstand (available through Victoria's Virtual Library).
Ephemera
Over 1700 files, individuals, groups, events, flyers, leaflets, postcards, theatre programs. Subject listing (PDF, 166 KB)
Books
Hundreds of titles, fiction and nonfiction. See our listing (PDF, 346 KB).
Like the other collections in the Archives, books are available for reference, but not for loan. If you're looking to borrow a title in our collection, you may be able to find a copy in the Libraries Australia database. It lists public library holdings across Australia. Many are available for inter-library loan.
Our book collection is held off-site. Requested books can be retrieved for use at the Archives - please contact us, allowing a week's notice.
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