LGBTQIA+ Periodical and Ephemera Collection - now digitized

Cover of Drag, A Magazine about the Transvestite, LGBTQIA+ Periodical and Ephemera Collection, Princeton University Library.

The LGBTQIA+ Periodical and Ephemera Collection, which contains over 60 boxes of magazines, zines, ephemera, monographs, and other materials dating from the early 1900s to the present day, is now available in Princeton University Library’s (PUL) digital repository, Digital PUL. It is international in scope, with materials in English, French, Germany, Italian and Spanish.

Cover of Tomorrow's Man, The International Magazine of Successful Bodybuilding, LGBTQIA+ Periodical and Ephemera Collection, Princeton University Library.

New materials are added to the collection on an ongoing basis, with a focus on growing the collection of non-Western materials. The collection has served as primary source materials for several papers and is used for in-class instruction. It is curated by Sara Howard, librarian for gender and sexuality studies, with original cataloging done by Kim McCauley, Library Collections Specialist.

According to Howard, “Materials within the collection are described using historical terms and the current language of the LGBTQIA+ community. Our goal is to ensure these records reflect the robust and dynamic language of the community, and accurately describe the physical and intellectual contents of the collection. We welcome feedback from our users to help us achieve this.”

Many digitized materials are also freely available via the Digital Transgender Archive. 

Visit the LGBTQIA Periodical and Ephemera Collection Libguide for more information about using this collection for research.

Published July 31, 2023.

Media contact: Barbara Valenza, Director of Library Communications