The Oregon State University Queer Archives (OSQA) was established in the fall of 2014 with a mission to preserve and share the stories, histories, and experiences of LGBTQ+ people within the OSU and Corvallis communities. The creation and development of the OSQA was the product of a collaboration between an archivist Natalia Fernández, and a professor, Dr. Bradley Boovy, who engaged in community-based initiatives that helped to build the archive. Almost a decade after its establishment, Fernández shares her reflections on the evolution of the OSQA as well as ideas for its future.

Natalia Fernández is an Associate Professor and the Curator of the Oregon Multicultural Archives (OMA) and the OSU Queer Archives (OSQA) at Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center. Fernández’s mission for directing the OMA and the OSQA is to work in collaboration with Oregon’s African American, Asian American, Latinx, Native American, and OSU’s LGBTQ+ communities to support them in preserving their histories and sharing their stories. Her scholarship relates to her work as an archivist, specifically best practices for working with communities of color. Fernández holds an M.A. in Information Resources and Library Science from the University of Arizona (U of A). She graduated from the U of A Knowledge River Program, a program that focuses on community-based librarianship and partnerships with traditionally underserved communities.

This lecture will be presented at the Corvallis Museum. Please email the Curator of Education at azia@bentoncountymuseums.org to reserve a limited quantity assistive listening device.