AIR#13. The LGBTQIA2S+ Guide to A*R 2025

With just few days left until the ARCHIVES * RECORDS 2025 SAA Annual Meeting begins in Anaheim, AIR brings you a guide featuring the LGBTQIA2S+ archives-related sessions:

#01-Diversity Forum

Mon Aug 25, 2025 11:45 AM - 1.00 PM. Location: Pacific C/D and Virtual. Not recorded

Presented by Teresa Mora

In light of the quickly changing landscape in regards to anti-DEIA actions at the national level the 2025 Diversity Forum will provide an opportunity for open dialog amongst archivists within a safe (and anonymized) space. The hybrid program will consist of a welcome from incoming Vice President/President-Elect, Brenda Gunn, a framing of the discussion and the opportunity to break out into small thematic groups to discuss how archivists are impacted in their daily work. Participants will be asked to think critically and creatively about how SAA might best support them and their work in this moment. The SAA Diversity Committee will compile notes from the conversations and recommend action items for Council to take on. The Diversity Committee is collecting feedback on potential topics ahead of the forum via this form. The form also gives individuals the opportunity to share their stories with the Diversity Committee ahead of the Forum.

#02-Poster G09 Emerging LIS Professionals: Organization of Culture in Diverse Community Archives 

Professional and Graduate Student Poster Presentations

Mon Aug 25, 2025 4:00 PM - 5.00 PM. Location: Pacific C/D (In-Person Only). Not recorded

Tue Aug 26, 2025 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM. Location: Pacific C/D (In-Person Only). Not recorded 

Poster Panel by Amal Ahmed, Cheryl Muhammad, Olivia Otero, Sam Stroud and Jesús Villalobos

This pannel features five emerging LIS porfessionals from diverse backgrounds, geographical locations and institutions. United by their shared experiences through the Faculty Organizing for Community Archival Support (FOCAS) collaborative, they highlight the role of community archives as critical entry points into the archival profession. The panel will showcase projects where we have activated community archival theory into praxis, emphasizing the cultural, social, and professional significance of a work that underscores the transformative power of archives in fostering identity, activism and alternative narratives across the African diaspora, Mexican American and lesbian communities.

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#03-Poster G24 Unpaid Labor in Community Archives: Archival Optimism, Avocational Awe, and Exploitation 

Professional and Graduate Student Poster Presentations

Mon Aug 25, 2025 4:00 PM - 5.00 PM. Location: Pacific C/D (In-Person Only). Not recorded

Tue Aug 26, 2025 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM. Location: Pacific C/D (In-Person Only). Not recorded 

Poster Panel by Veronica Ruse 

How do community archives use archival optimism to justify the use of unpaid labor in the form of volunteers, student workers, and even prisoners? The poster will examine case studies of community archives including Maison d'Haïti, The ArQuives LGBTQIA2S+ Archives of Canada, and LLACE Lavender Library , Archive, and Cultural Exchange in Sacramento.

#04-Conversation Lounge Queer / Archives

Mon Aug 25, 2025 4:00 PM - 5.00 PM. Location: Virtual Only

Facilitated by Lou Hines

Do you identify as a queer archivist? Do you work with queer collections? Just curious? Come discuss with your peers your work struggles, and strategies for survival and success. We'll be joined for a discussion on recent work by Invisible Histories, an archive that locates, collects, researches, and creates community-based, educational prarounfd LGBTQ history in the Deep South

#05-Eduation Session 502 Recovered Silenced Histories: Epistemic Activism in California 's San Joaquín Valley

Tue Aug 26, 2025 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM. Location: Pacific A (In-Person Only)

With Christopher Livingston, Donato Cruz and Oliver Rosales

Epistemic activism in archival studies reshapes traditional knowledge systems by centering diverse voices in preservation and access. This sessions will discuss practical applications and teaching strategies that recover silenced histories and reflect marginalized communities' social, cultural, and economic contributions.

#06-Education Session 704 Sustaining Queer Archival Projects in a Repressive Political Climate

Tue Aug 26, 2025 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM. Location: Pacific C/D

With Kate Burns, Alejandra Gaeta and Nix Mendy

Documenting queer life is crucial in a political context where LGBTQ+ rights and cultures are increasingly under attack. The stakes are higher for sharing stories that challenges cisheteronormative narratives. Yet, queer inclusion leads to more comprehensive and nuanced understandings of history, culture, and identity. Queer collections are vital resources for advocacy, education, and community-building. Panelists will share queer archival projects that include: documenting LGBTQ+ experiences in universities in spite of pressures to marginalize them; transforming the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles by featuring stories of the gay rodeo; and generating queer joy futurity, and connection in community archives.

So, these are, without a doubt, the six events you can't miss if you're interested in the LGBTQIA2S+ archives and archivists world, listed in chronological order. A*R registration includes on-demand access to the live-streamed video (for viewing at your convenience) as well as to all sessions recordings (audio with presentation slides) of the conference. A reminder that this year, all in-person only sessions and forums will be live-streamed. Recordigs of sessions will be available online after the end of the conference. So, just enjoy it!