Thousands of materials are contained within the University of South Carolina library system, spanning from textbooks and novels to comic books and stickers. There is something for every knowledge-seeker to discover, whether they’re browsing the special collections or combing through digitized resources.
"The reason we value things in archives isn't just because of the things they tell us, but because of the traces of human beings that are on those documents," Ed Madden, PhD (he/him), a professor of English at USC, said.
It was this value that inspired an LGBTQ+ archive in the heart of South Carolina.
The LGBTQ Columbia History Initiative began in 2019 as a collaboration between USC University Libraries, Historic Columbia and the USC Department of Oral History, with help from Richland Library and local queer-focused organizations such as the Harriet Hancock Center and the Queer Cola Oral History and Digital Archive Project. The initiative was started with a clear goal in mind: to document “the often unseen and untold stories of the LGBTQ+ community through the creation and dissemination of oral histories, historic site interpretation and archival collections,” according to Historic Columbia.
Over time, the archive grew to contain various periodicals, novels, memoirs and other publications that recount the history of Columbia’s queer community, accessible online or at certain USC University Libraries. The items were contributed for digitization by donors, many of them affiliated with USC. Madden served on the Initiative’s steering committee and is credited for a significant number of contributions to the archive.
"I'm one of a number of people who donated materials for that collection, and I helped to coordinate some donations from the Harriet Hancock Center, as well," said Madden of his contributions to the Initiative. "So, lots and lots of materials about South Carolina LGBTQ organizations, or related materials."
The significance of these archived items and stories is plentiful.
"They remind us we have a history. They remind us what that history was. You know, we are not a community without a history," Madden said.
Madden also taught a class on LGBTQ literature, which was most recently offered in the spring of 2026. It was in this course that current graduate student Abby Still (she/they) began their research using the queer archive at Hollings Special Collections Library.
"I wouldn't have done my research this past spring if it weren't for his class because he really gave us a deep dive into a lot of what [Hollings] has that I don't think I would have noticed," Still said.
Using the Hollings Library collection of LGBTQ+ media, they were able to find a periodical titled The Ladder. This magazine broke barriers, as it was the first publication by a lesbian organization to be distributed across the U.S. The publication ran from October 1956 to September 1972 — spanning nearly 16 years — and the Hollings Library currently contains 36 different issues of the magazine published during its run.
In this magazine, there is a section titled "Readers Respond," where readers could write into the magazine to provide their feedback and opinions. They still concentrated their research on this section, focusing on the contributions and reactions from Southern women.
"I just talked about how identity and our queer society has come a long way, but then at the same time, it's also really funnily similar," Still said. "It's like you read these periodicals from the '60s and you're like, 'Oh, we really haven't changed much.'"
Not only was Still's work academically significant, winning an award for undergraduate research, it also held personal importance.
"I'm finding there is an intersection between southern queer archives that is very small," Still said. "But it's something I really appreciate, as a queer woman from the South."
South Carolina has been reported as one of the least safe states for the LGBTQ+ community according to the 2026 LGBTQ+ State Safety Report Card. But Columbia's queer history is extensive, and for the archive, preserving this history is vital. And the efforts are not stopping anytime soon, as local groups like the Harriet Hancock Center advocate and provide resources for the LGBTQ+ community.
Beyond the publications and memorabilia preserved, there are also 33 oral histories recorded and available on the website for the LGBTQ Columbia archive. These immortalize both past and present stories and accounts from queer individuals. Much of this work is done by the USC Department of Oral History, led by Andrea L'Hommedieu (she/her).
"It started in the mid-2000s, maybe 2007 or '08, by a student here at the university," L'Hommedieu said about the collection of the archived oral histories. "And, so then they sort of got set aside, and then Historic Columbia picked up the ball and did all these more recent interviews in the early 2020s."
These recordings cover a vast number of topics that are relevant to the histories of both the LGBTQ+ community and South Carolina. Commonly discussed topics in the interviews are the HIV/AIDS crisis, religion and the experience of POC within the LGBTQ+ community. There are also discussions of more niche aspects of queer culture, such as drag and ballroom culture, the LGBTQ+ bar and club scene and mentorship and parenting LGBTQ+ children.
First-hand stories from queer people in Columbia preserve many aspects of LGBTQ+ culture that can easily be lost in written histories.
"We are a community with a difficult and often invisible history because of just the lack of evidence of our daily lives, right?" Madden said.
While many stories of the past are no longer available, generations of LGBTQ+ people are working to preserve stories from their time and times prior, keeping the history alive through means like interviews.
This human connection and preservation of people's memories is one of the most rewarding parts of working with oral histories, says L'Hommedieu.
"I really like to sit down with somebody and listen to them tell their story and feel like I've helped them preserve something important to them, but also to the generations ahead of them: their family, their friends, future people in their fields that are going to learn from their experiences,
L'Hommedieu said. "I think that's what I like most, that we know that we're pushing these stories forward for other people in the future."
Beyond the historical and academic significance, these oral histories contribute to community and acceptance as well.
"The personal stories are so important because they're affirming for people. They can feel like they can relate," L'Hommedieu said. "There's somebody they can relate to their story, relate to their experience."
And that is much of the importance of the entire LGBTQ+ archive; not only does it preserve histories that may be censored, watered down or lost over time, it also shows people that the LGBTQ+ community has always existed. Regardless of hardships, inequality and barriers, queer culture and queer voices have been essential to Columbia and its history, and that will continue to be true as future generations of queer people make history.
"When you're in an archive and you're looking at things that people held years ago and things, it's not just that they own them: it's that they were part of how they understood who they are or who they were," Madden said. "These things were part of how people came to understand who they were, came to understand what an [LGBTQ] community could look like, came to understand what an LGBTQ politics could be and do. There's just something really powerful about that."
