Collection Development -- Alternative Press Collection
The Alternative Press Collection (APC) includes thousands of national and international newspapers, serials, books, pamphlets, ephemera and artifacts documenting activist themes and organizations, spanning from the 1800s to the present. It also contains manuscript collections pertaining to social movements, including the personal papers of activists such as Abbie Hoffman and Foster Gunnison; records of social justice organizations such as the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union; and various topical collections including the Poras Collection of Vietnam War Memorabilia and the Meyer Collection of Fat Liberation. The APC has over 7,000 newspapers, 5,000 monographs, and 1,800 files on alternative organizations. The APC also includes posters, buttons, and other artifacts and ephemera from social movements in the United States.
Archives & Special Collections collects Alternative Press materials which fall into the following categories, focusing on activist and counter-culture movements from 1960 to the present:
- Titles indexed in the Alternative Press Index
- Publications and materials documenting recent and contemporary anti-war movements in the United States (Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam)
- Personal papers of significant figures from social movements in the state of Connecticut
- Connecticut-based social justice organizational records which compliment current holdings
- Publications and ephemera from non-mainstream political movements (Communism, Socialism, Anarchism, and other Radical Politics)
- Black Power and non-white activist publications and ephemera
- Women's Liberation/Feminist publications and ephemera
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer publications and ephemera
- Publications and ephemera pertaining to body issues and ability
For inquiries about the collection or possible donations please contact the curator, M. W. Batt or (860) 486-4508.
This page is maintained by M. W. Batt