1995: Public Cash Saves 'Priceless' Archive
The Lesbian Archive and Information Centre (LAIC) was established as the Lesbian Archives Collective in 1984, receiving grant funding from the Greater London Council. After the withdrawal of this funding due to the dissolution of the GLC, the LAIC found itself in financial difficulties and without a permanent base.
Detail of 'Pink Paper' article about the LAIC's financial difficulties, 21st April 1995.
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The Lesbian Archive and Information Centre contains the UK's largest and most significant collection of materials about lesbian lives, histories and achievements. This particular article appeared in the 'Pink Paper' on 21st April 1995, a few weeks after an appeal announcement in the same paper.
This is the first time that Glasgow Women's Library is mentioned as a possible guardian of the archive and Adele Patrick remembers reading about the archive's trouble and thinking that the 5th floor of the Library would be a good place for it. She says "I remember a mixture of feeling excitement and trepidation, because I thought we could do it, it would change our lives but I wanted to pursue it because I didn't want anyone else to get their hands on it".
The collections were sent to Glasgow in September 1995 to be housed in the upper floor of the Glasgow Women's Library. In 1996, LAIC accepted the archives and library of the Camden Lesbian Centre and Black Lesbian Group as a complete collection.
Return to the Glasgow Women's Library Website