Archivist Lucie Handley-GirardI was officially hired as an Archivist for The ArQuives last Friday. It seemed however, that I have been here since last summer when I was Archives Assistant as a student at U of T’s iSchool. Now that I have completed my Masters of Information I am happy to begin processing collections on a full time basis in the building I felt I never really left. My position is being funded through a grant supplied by the Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) at Library and Archives Canada. DHCP works to ensure Canadian memory is recorded and made accessible for future generations by partnering with community heritage organizations.

I feel great responsibility with the collections I have been given to process. Raegan has tasked me with The Coming Out Show fonds, which was the first gay radio show in Canada, and ran from 1978-1987. It was a collection she worked on while employed as a student, but one that has been waiting to be finalized and made more accessible for researchers with a Finding Aid and digitized content. You will often find me listening to a radio documentary or a podcast. So I’m looking forwards to delving into the hundreds of cassette tapes, their corresponding show notes and scrapbooks to learn about LGBTQ life in Vancouver during these ten years. Cover of the Body Politic, main headline is "In search of any lesbian bar"I am also going to be processing the Pink Triangle Press fonds and the Body Politic fonds. As many of you will know, the records generated from the Body Politic are The ArQuives bedrock – they are our founding records from 1973. As Pink Triangle Press was responsible for the output of the Body Politic’s journalistic pursuits, it is just as important of a legacy to preserve, showcase, and make accessible to researchers. Written by: Lucie Handley-Girard, Archivist