My paper presents early findings of a multiple case study that looks at sustainability and strategic actions at four community-led lesbian and gay archives. These include the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives (Toronto), The ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives (Los Angeles), The June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives (West Hollywood), and the Lesbian Herstory Archives (Brooklyn). Preliminary analysis suggests that these four archives experience common challenges, but each has managed its resources in different ways and with varying levels of success, dependent on geographic, socio-historical, and ideological contexts. Interviews with archivists, volunteers, and community partners also indicate that these archives initially attracted investment from local communities because they served as social spaces, providing volunteers with a place to contribute to collective action for social change. The ways in which people have come to the archives and what has kept them involved has implications for attracting new investment from younger generations born after the gay liberation movement in very different socio-political environments.
