Queer Heritage South Live Archive Collections Development Plan 

This document details our remit for collecting within the Queer Heritage South Live Archive. It documents our mission, the types of materials we do and do not collect, and ongoing provision of access to the collections. As a community archive, our plan is always in development, responding to the communities we serve. If you have any comments on this document, please contact us by email: archive@marlboroughproductions.org.uk 

Mission, Vision and Values 

Queer Heritage South (QHS) is a heritage learning project powered by Marlborough Productions. QHS celebrates and promotes the rich cultural life of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer (LGBTQIA+) community in Brighton & Hove and the South East of England. We aim to collect, preserve and animate inclusive LGBTQIA+ histories, through our digital ‘live archive’. A core value of the archive is that the LGBTQIA+ histories are captured in the words of those who have experienced them. 

Archive Collection Plan

What we collect 

We collect materials relating to LGBTQIA+ History in Brighton & Hove, and the South East of England where this material has a clear connection to individuals and communities in Brighton & Hove. We collect material in digital formats. These materials may be ‘born digital’ i.e originally created in a digital format, such as digital photographs and video. These materials may also be digitised i.e a digital copy of an analogue item, such as digital scans of photographs or flyers. 

We are particularly interested in collecting materials relating to groups that are under-represented within current LGBTQIA+ collections across the region. These groups include but are not limited to: 

• Disabled LGBTQIA+ communities 

• Transgender, non-binary and intersex communities 

• Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) LGBTQIA+ communities 

• Older lesbian communities 

What we do not collect 

We do not collect physical materials, we encourage these to be digitised and uploaded to our digital archive. We also do not collect digital materials that would infringe any intellectual property rights or contravene General Data Protection Regulations. 

We do not collect material which causes harm and/or contributes to racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, biphobia or transphobia. Though we collect material which engages with these themes, we make a distinction between engagement and harm. 

We do not collect materials depicting children and young people under the age of 18. 

All contributions to the digital archive are moderated and reviewed to ensure they comply with the Collections Development Plan and our website terms and conditions. 

 

Explicit Content 

The Queer Heritage South live archive contains explicit material, including images or depictions of nudity, and sexually explicit language. To ensure responsible access, we are developing our approach to explicit content. As such, contributions containing what may be considered explicit content will be accepted into the archive if they meet our collections criteria. However, these may not be made publicly visible until a later date. 

Memory 

We recognise that memory is often subjective, and recollections of events will differ between contributors. Where documentary evidence becomes available of details that will enable greater accuracy of records, such as the date, place or time, donors will be informed and records may be edited in collaboration with the donor to ensure the highest quality metadata is available for users of the archive. 

Terms of acceptance 

Any material deposited within the digital archive is considered non-confidential. By contributing to the archive the depositor agrees this material will be publicly visible. By being accepted into the archive, the depositor also agrees that materials can be used for the purposes of operating, developing, providing, promoting and using the Queer Heritage South digital archive. This includes being shared in social media posts, and utilised within cultural activities developed by Queer Heritage South.  

To accept material into the collection, there is a minimum metadata requirement. At a minimum, deposits should include information on the name and contact information of the depositor, and a brief title, date and description of the item deposited. 

If a depositor wishes to deposit multiple items, they should make contact with Queer Heritage South. For a depositor donating multiple items, the minimum metadata standard has a higher threshold. At a minimum, deposits should include the name and contact information of the depositor, the file type and format of the material, the creator/copyright holder, a title, date and description of the item deposited. 

Takedown 

Requests to remove records from the Queer Heritage South digital archive can be submitted up until the end of the NHLF funded project ‘Queer Heritage South: Live Archive’ in June 2028. Possible reasons for these requests include:

 

• The content of a record published online is an infringement of copyright

• A record contains personal or sensitive information about a living individual 

• A record identifies an individual who had not provided consent to such material being contributed to the archive 

• The original contributor wishes to remove the record 

To request a record is taken down, please email archive@marlboroughproductions.org.uk In your request, please provide your contact details, identify the record(s) in question with a URL, and include a short description of the request. 

Please note: After June 2028, the Queer Heritage South archive will be digitally preserved, and consequently, it may not be possible to process requests for the removal of records.

Cataloging Standards 

Cataloging is the process of managing the information that gives our collections meaning. Queer Heritage South recognises that LGBTQIA+ narratives are often not reflected in conventional archive catalogues. As such, we aim to strike a balance between community generated archival descriptions, which document the richness of personal experience, and the provision of consistent and high quality metadata. To do this, the archive utilises cataloging guidelines developed by the Community Archives and Heritage Group (CAHG). These guidelines are based upon the minimum metadata requirements for ISAD(G), the international standard for cataloging archives, alongside Dublin Core, a widely used standard for many types of cataloging. 

Archive Access 

The Live Archive is a digital only collection. Queer Heritage South aims to maintain the digital archive to ensure that it remains freely accessible to anyone who may wish to use it. By utilising material within the archive, users agree to do this responsibly. 

Copyright 

When contributing to the archive, donors agree that this material may be handled following the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) licence. 

Donors should, wherever possible, note the copyright holder and source of all donated materials. If you are the copyright holder for material that has been donated and wish to ensure your attribution, please contact the archive. 

Archive Preservation 

The archive website is part of the UK Web Archive and is regularly crawled for preservation. A preservation copy of the archive database is currently in the process of being held in partnership with the University of Sussex through their research repository Figshare.