Protecting Confidentiality When Accessing History
About the project
Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (LGLS) was an activist-run mental and physical health service for LGBT+ people in the Lothians and beyond. It's the UK’s first gay helpline and Scotland’s first gay charity, and offered a unique listening service and in-person befriending service to anyone experiencing issues or difficulties in connection with their sexuality. They also provided practical information such as details about gay-friendly venues, promoted sexual health education, and advocated for legal and social equality.
The LGLS Archive is held by Lothian Health Services Archive (LHSA) and contains records created and collected by LGLS, which includes minutes, correspondence, call logs, resources for volunteers, and promotional materials. This extraordinarily rare collection fills a significant gap in our understanding of the history of the LGBT+ community in Scotland from 1974 to 2007, and until recently it has been inaccessible to researchers as it contains confidential information that is closed under data protection legislation. However, thanks to a Wellcome Trust funded project the collection has now been catalogued to allow for maximum research use.
This event will provide an overview of the project and the work that has been done to open up this complex collection. It will also discuss the history of LGLS and the service they provided and items from the collection will be displayed for participants to see first-hand the amazing stories captured within this collection.
Louise Neilson is a Project Archivist with Lothian Health Services Archive working on a Wellcome Trust funded project to catalogue and promote the archive of the Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. She has been working with LHSA since 2018 and her core role as Access Officer involves facilitating access to LHSA’s collection and conducting outreach and engagement events. She is a qualified archivist with an MSc in Information Management and Preservation from the University of Glasgow.
Event Information
This event will take place in the Research Suite on the 6th floor of the Main Library. Please inform us of any access requirements by emailing cdcs@ed.ac.uk. Further details about how CDCS uses your information obtained from booking onto our events can be found in our Events Privacy Statement.
As of March 2022, the government formally removed all Covid restrictions in the UK. We ask that you continue to be considerate of others’ personal space, and please do not attend if you feel unwell or have any of Covid symptoms.
