Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Accruals
Custodial History
Processing History
Historical Background
Collection Scope and Content Summary
Collection Arrangement
Separation Note
Related Collections
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County records
Creator:
Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange
County
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.118
Physical Description:
14.1 Linear Feet
(28 boxes and 3 oversized folders)
Date (inclusive): 1977-2005
Abstract: This collection comprises the records
of The Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County (The Center OC), a
not-for-profit organization serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community in
Orange County, California. The collection documents the Center OC's operations, sponsored
events, services, fundraising, educational activities, and public health campaigns including
those addressing HIV/AIDS. Materials include reports, newsletters, memoranda, event
programs, photographs, fliers, posters, training and educational materials, clippings, and
audiovisual recordings.
Language of Material: Collection materials are primarily
in English with some materials in Spanish.
Access
The collection is open for research.
Select items have been reformatted and have digital preservation copies. Access to original
audiovisual recordings is restricted; researchers may request viewing copies.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by
the creators of the records. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the
Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Preferred Citation
Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County Records. MS-R118. Special
Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
Gift of Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County, 2004-2007.
Accruals
Accruals are expected.
Custodial History
Some of the materials in the collection were contributed as part of the Orange County
Historical LGBT Timeline Project.
Processing History
Processed by Dawn Schmitz, Kimberly Gallon, Christine Kim, and Natalie Newton in 2011.
Historical Background
The Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County (The Center OC) is one of
the oldest gay and lesbian community centers in the United States, established as a
volunteer organization in 1971 and incorporated in 1975 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit
community-based organization. The Center's programming serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) community, including the Spanish-speaking LGBT community, those who
are questioning, LGBT youth, and LGBT families.
Through its AIDS Response Program, The Center was the first community-based agency to
address the AIDS crisis in Orange County. The program responded to the crisis with a variety
of initiatives, including Stop AIDS Orange County, a volunteer-based HIV/AIDS prevention
program that began in 1987. In 1993 the LifeGuard program was created to provide education
about safer sex for gay and bisexual men. The Center also designed HIV/AIDS prevention
services specifically to serve the Latino and Asian American community. In addition to
HIV/AIDS support and education services, The Center has advanced other public health
initiatives, including an anti-smoking campaign.
In addition to its public health programs, The Center has organized or sponsored a range of
social events and other activities to serve the LGBT community. The Orange Coast Guild was a
social group that organized cultural events in the early 1990s. In the early 2000s, The
Center co-sponsored Orange County Dyke March events, public demonstrations designed to
empower lesbian, bisexual and transgender women. In 2003-2004, The Center was represented by
the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit charging officials in Costa Mesa,
California, with imposing unduly burdensome permit requirements on the Dyke March
organizers.
The Center relocated and expanded its facilities to a new Garden Grove location in 1988. In
June, 2009, it relocated again to Santa Ana, California.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises the records of The Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of
Orange County (The Center OC), a not-for-profit organization serving the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community in Orange County, California. The collection
documents the Center's operations, sponsored events, services, fundraising, and programs,
particularly those addressing HIV/AIDS. Materials include board of directors meeting
agendas, reports, newsletters, memoranda, photographs, event programs, fliers, posters,
training and educational materials, clippings, and videotapes.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged in 6 series:
- Series 1. Administrative records, 1984-2004
- Series 2. Program files, 1983-2003
- Series 3. Events, 1989-2005
- Series 4. Research materials, 1977-2002
- Series 5. Visual materials, 1987-2004
- Series 6. Awards and commendations, 1998-2004
Separation Note
Issues of the following newsletters were removed from the collection and added to cataloged
serials in the Department of Special Collections and Archives. Complete holdings information
is available through the UC Irvine Libraries catalog
ANTPAC :
-
The Center Connection
-
The Log Cabin Club of Orange County
-
Laguna Outreach
Related Collections
Related materials can be found in the following collections in the Department of Special
Collections and Archives:
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Video recordings -- California -- Orange County -- 21st
century.
Lesbians -- California -- Orange County -- Archives.
Gays -- California -- Orange County -- Archives.
AIDS (disease) -- California -- Orange County -- History --
Sources.
Bisexuals -- California -- Orange County -- Archives.
Community centers -- California -- Orange County -- History.
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 21st
century.
Transgender people -- California -- Orange County --
Archives.
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 20th
century.
Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County
-- Archives