Finding Aid for the Old Lesbians Organizing for Change records 1986-1992 LSC.2203

Finding aid prepared by Stacy Wood, 2013; updated by Sabrina Ponce, 2017; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Online finding aid last updated 5 September 2017.
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Business Number: 310-825-4988
Fax Number: 310-206-1864
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu


Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Old Lesbians Organizing for Change records
Creator: Old Lesbians Organizing for Change
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2203
Physical Description: 1.2 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1986-1994
Abstract: Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (OLOC) is a national organization for lesbians over the age of 60. Using education and public discourse, the core mission of OLOC is to combat ageism and increase the visibility of older lesbians. The majority of the materials in the collection are about the 1987 West Coast Conference and Celebration and its planning and programming. Also included is correspondence between members, as well as people on the steering committee.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Language of Material: Materials are primarily in English, some materials in Spanish.

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Acquisition Information

Provenance unknown. This collection is part of an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives , the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) , and the UCLA Library .

Sponsor

The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive  at UCLA is an outreach and collection-building partnership between the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives , the UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) , and the UCLA Library . These collections expand the pool of primary source materials available to researchers and to the community at large. This partnership was initiated by CSW and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to inventory, organize, preserve, and digitize more than eighty Mazer collections pertaining to lesbian and feminist activism and writings.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Old Lesbians Organizing for Change Records, (Collection 2203). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Processing History

Processed by Stacy Wood, 2013. Description enhanced and further physical processing completed by Sabrina Ponce, 2017.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.  

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 9973847793606533 

Biography

After the publication of the book Look Me in the Eye: Old Women, Aging and Ageism by Barbara MacDonald and Cynthia Rich, a group of lesbians was inspired and empowered to start the First West Coast Conference and Celebration for Old Lesbians in Southern California. The event was held at the California State University, Dominguez Hills Campus in Carson, California in April 1987.
Out of the group that attended this conference as well as its follow-up in 1989, a group of sixteen lesbians went on to form an organization. At the first organizational meeting, a name was chosen, a statement of purpose drafted, tasks assigned, a coordinator designated and future meetings scheduled. The Old Lesbian Organizing Committee (later renamed Old Lesbians Organizing for Change) had begun.
Participation was strictly limited to lesbians 60 years of age and older. However, OLOC has always welcomed the support of younger lesbians while maintaining the need for separate space.
OLOC quickly established a newsletter with a national reach and began enrolling members. Early efforts were concentrated on educational materials on ageism, using familiar and effective consciousness raising techniques. These materials were pooled and published in The Facilitator's Handbook: Confronting Ageism: Consciousness Raising for Lesbians 60 and Over.
OLOC was a strong and highly visible part of the National Lesbian Conference in Atlanta 1991 as well as the March on Washington in 1993.
By 1992, OLOC sought and gained non-profit status, incorporating in the state of Texas. It achieved tax exempt status in 1994.
In 1996, OLOC held its first National Gathering, held on the campus of University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. In 1999, it held its second gathering in San Francisco, CA. The third was in 2002, again in Minnesota. The conferences are now held every other year.
OLOC continues to produce a quarterly newsletter called the OLOC Reporter, coordinate biennial gatherings, participate in the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project and produce a line of age-positive, women-friendly greeting cards.

Scope and Content

This collection contains organizational materials for Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (OLOC), an organization devoted to combating ageism through education and advocacy. The majority of the materials in the collection deal with the West Coast Conference and Celebration, its planning and programming. Also included is correspondence between members as well as people on the steering committee.

Organization and Arrangement

Materials arranged by type and in chronological order.

Related Material

Barbara Macdonald papers  (Collection 2159). Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Elaine Mikels papers  (Collection 1954). Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Degania Golove papers  (Collection 1984). Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Ester Bentley papers  (Collection 1981). Available at Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Papers of Cynthia Rich and Barbara Macdonald, 1893-2004  MC 505. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Aging -- Social aspects -- United States.
Ageism -- United States.
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives
June L. Mazer Lesbian Archive at UCLA
Old Lesbians Organizing for Change -- Archives

box 1, folder 1-3

Correspondence: Internal 1986-1987

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence between members and various committees of OLOC, mostly about the first West Coast Celebration By and For Old Lesbians that took place in April 1987 in Santa Monica, California.
box 1, folder 4-5

West Coast Celebration newspaper clippings 1986-1987

Scope and Contents note

Articles, blurbs and reviews of the West Coast Celebration and Conference By and For Old Lesbians which took place in Santa Monica, California in 1987 as well as related correspondence.
box 1, folder 6

West Coast Celebration expenses 1986-1987

Scope and Contents note

Receipts, invoices and summaries of expenses including preparation, publicity and programming costs.
box 1, folder 7

West Coast Celebration publicity 1986-1987

Language of Material: One clipping is in Spanish.

Scope and Contents note

Press releases, advertisements, and articles that served as publicity for the West Coast Celebration throughout 1986 and 1987.
box 1, folder 8-9

West Coast Celebration mailing lists 1986

Scope and Contents note

Mailing lists and materials for members and interested parties of OLOC and of the West Coast Celebration.
box 2, folder 1

West Coast Celebration photograph release forms 1987

Scope and Contents note

Signed release and permissions forms for photographs taken at the West Coast Conference on behalf of OLOC.
box 2, folder 2

West Coast Celebration grant applications 1987

Scope and Contents note

Grant applications in support of the West Coast Conference.
box 2, folder 3

West Coast Celebration programming 1987

Scope and Contents note

Programming information, schedules, itineraries and details concerning the day to day logistics of the West Coast Conference.
box 2, folder 4

Correspondence: Members 1987-1992

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence to and from members of OLOC concerning activities of the national organization as well as regional parties.
box 2, folder 5

West Coast Celebration and Conference of Old Lesbians II 1987-1989

Scope and Contents note

Programming information, correspondence and planning documents, photographs, and a bibliography on old lesbians.
box 2, folder 6

Correspondence: Shevy Healey 1989-1992

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence [by] Shevy Healey, some related to OLOC, some personal. Included is a note concerning the relationship of the letters to the organization.
box 3, folder 1, box 2, folder 7-8

OLOC newsletters 1990-1994

Scope and Contents note

Newsletters for OLOC detailing events, educational materials and important logistical information.
box 3, folder 2

OLOC sign-in sheets 1990-1994

Scope and Contents note

Sign in sheets from gatherings and meetings of OLOC.
box 3, folder 3

National Lesbian Conference 1991

Scope and Contents note

Programming information, flyers, planning documents and promotional materials from OLOC's participation in the National Lesbian Conference.
box 3, folder 4

Administrative files 1991-1992

Scope and Contents note

Includes bylaws, organizational information, norms and mission statements. Included are drafts and completed versions.
box 3, folder 5

Correspondence: Degania Golove 1991-1993

Scope and Contents note

Correspondence with Degania Golove on behalf of OLOC.
box 3, folder 6

Summer Gathering materials 1996

Scope and Contents note

Materials for the summer gathering of 1996 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This includes planning documents, correspondence, programming information and conference materials.
box 3, folder 7

Flyers circa 1992-1993

Scope and Contents note

Flyers for events and gatherings.
box 3, folder 8

Educational materials circa 1992

Scope and Contents note

Essays, one-sheets and handouts concerning the mission and goals of OLOC and the importance of combating ageism.