This week I’d like to take a look at a specific resource that I’ve used in the past for my own research. While doing my research I realized the limitations of the archive, but was unable to really articulate them. Now that I’m looking into digital humanities more, I’ve realized the concrete ways in which this particular resource could expand and be of more scholarly use if it implemented more digital tools.
Gala is a South African archive and platform formed in 1997 to address the lack of representation of LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer) folks in (South) Africa. Originally called the Gay and Lesbian Archives, Gala works to collect and preserve local African LGBTIQ narratives from both the public and private realms. The collection is primarily made up of objects on paper: namely letters, diary entries, legal documents, and photographs.
The majority of the objects in the archive are not digitized. Thus, a meeting with the archivist and a visit to the reading room is necessary to utilize the resource to its full capacity. This is obviously a major drawback to scholars of African queer history who do not find themselves in Johannesburg, myself included. While Gala does have an Archival Guide that lists and explains the holdings in the collection, a lack of searching capabilities makes it cumbersome to use. Although you can use “control F” search functions on the pdf, this unofficial search tool relies on the user to make use of exact keywords that they are looking for and requires a lot of sifting through unnecessary additional information. While we have seen that digitizing holdings represents a significant cost, since Gala does already employ an archivist, it seems as though digitizing at least some of their collections could be a vital step in their growth. Alternatively, a searchable collections tool or inventory could help users understand the holdings even if the objects themselves are not digitized.
As a digital resource, Gala is perhaps most useful because of its resource list. This list is made up of thumbnails of a handful of books. When clicked on, a new tab opens with information on the book including publication information and a summary. While, again, this page is not searchable, the comparably small scale and the use of thumbnails makes it more easily used.
In addition to this list of resources, there is a physical library associated with the project, the Cooper-Sparks Queer Community Library and Resource Center. The library is in the process of being inventoried and cataloged which will greatly increase the ease of use and the functionality of the library itself. It is important to note that in the publication tab there are a few books that are listed that are no longer in print, however, it is stated that they are available to read through the library. This encourages physical interaction with the organization itself which is a great resource for those in Johannesburg. These resource lists and collections of reading materials are complemented by Gala’s publishing branch, MaThoko’s Books, which seeks to provide publishing support to those who would like to further queer narratives and marginalized voices. Although this particular facet of Gala does not fall under the digital humanities umbrella, I think it is vital that Gala have both tangible and digital resources available, particularly because much of its audience in South Africa may have limited or unreliable internet access.
Taking a step back, part of what I appreciate so much about Gala is how it has transformed over the 22 years it has been operating. On the basic level of its name, the archive has continually adapted to better serve the community it represents. It consciously moved away from the title “Gay and Lesbian Archives” in a move to be more inclusive to a range of identities and orientations. Since this original change they are still open to changing their name if the LGBTIQ community’s needs and desires change and are not met by the archive. This sort of flexibility and community-centered approach is what makes Gala so unique as a research tool. While the objects in their collection remain the same, they are constantly reframing their approach and bringing new insights onto the objects to reflect societal changes and attitudes toward the project.
One may compare this archive to the Lesbian Herstory Archive located in New York City which is considered to be the world’s largest collection of materials about lesbians and their communities. Like Gala, their collection is not fully digitized, although they have begun doing so and are farther along in the process with audio files digitized and many photographs. They do say that if you are unable to visit the location in NYC, that, “In order to use the Archives from a distance it is best if you have a specific request, such as a certain article in a specific journal, along with the author, date and title, rather than a broad request such as “Do you have any material on Lesbian mothers?” in which case the answer would be “yes, a tremendous amount.” We can point you towards published periodical listings as well.” Put simply and without delving into why this might be the case, the Lesbian Herstory Archive has a lot of the same limitations to use that Gala does half a world away.