LGBT Magazine Archive, Collection 1; ProQuest

CONTENT ProQuest’s LGBT Magazine Archive Collection 1 provides access to a comprehensive selection of LGBT magazine and serial titles, spanning over six decades of publication history and including a range of influential titles serving the LGBTQIA+ community. Charting critical developments in LGBTQIA+ history and culture, this collection highlights themes such as the legal context of the LGBTQIA+ experience and sociocultural aspects including health, lifestyle, politics, attitudes, rights, and the arts.

With documents ranging back to 1945, the LGBT Magazine Archive provides access to rare and hard-to-find publications, including the full run of The Advocate, the oldest continuously published LGBTQIA+ publication in the United States, which started in 1967 and predated the rise of the gay rights movement. The collection also includes notable UK titles, such as Gay News and Gay Times, Europe’s longest-running LGBTQIA+ publication, which is now solely released digitally. Other titles of note include The Pink Paper, Man and Society, and Transgender Tapestry, as well as niche magazines and newsletters, such as Albatross, Gay Scotland, and Just for Us.

A note, this review covers Collection 1 of the archive, which spans 1945 through 2015 and features 26 titles (details available in the archive’s title list); Collection 2 runs through 2020 and is still being digitized. Works are documented in their entire run, except for cases where a particular issue or pages are missing or impossible to digitize because of their rarity.

USABILITY Based on the standard ProQuest interface, the LGBT Magazine Archive defaults to a basic search. Advanced-search options and a list of publications provide added functionality for seasoned users and researchers seeking greater control of their search queries. Advanced-search options include the ability to add additional rows, narrow by publication dates, search by author, publication title, and/or subject, and narrow by document type (back matter, comic strip, and more), feature (cartoons, diagrams, etc.), and place of publication.

Documents in the archive are presented in high-resolution image format by default, with browser tools available to review the scanned title. Alternatively, users can access the same content in PDF format. Tools to download, cite, email, print, and save or export content are also available, including options such as Google Drive, RefWorks, image zip files, and more. A brief abstract accompanies each entry in the collection, along with publication details.

In addition to keyword-search options, users can browse publications and issues by selecting the desired title, searching within a title, or browsing issues by year.

PRICING Pricing for the resource will vary and is based on factors such as but not limited to the type of institution, geographic location, and the size of the specific location(s).

VERDICT ProQuest’s LGBT Magazine Archive brings together well-established and hard-to-find content from significant LGBTQIA+ magazines published in the U.S. and the UK from the mid-20th through the 21st centuries. The inclusion of specialized and rare titles provides new opportunities for researchers engaged in the study of LGBTQIA+ history.