LGBT Tech Launches Digital Preservation Resource: The LGBTQ+ Archive

Throughout history, LGBTQ+ communities have faced not only violence and discrimination, but also erasure. From banned books to deleted webpages, the story of our lives, our health, and our rights is currently being fragmented, hidden, or quietly scrubbed from public view. The LGBTQ+ Archive is a direct response to that pattern of disappearance, and a community-centered effort to push back.

This project is an evolving digital archive designed to preserve and make accessible critical LGBTQ+ resources, documents, and research that were once available on federal government websites. These include public health guidance, legal protections, community support tools, civil rights policy, and more–materials that, in many cases, have disappeared from their original online homes without warning.

We created this archive not as the first to take up this work, but as part of a growing ecosystem of individuals and organizations who have fought to keep this information from being lost. We are deeply grateful for the tireless efforts of journalists, advocates, technologists, and librarians who have worked to track, download, and store these materials over the months. In particular, this archive would not be possible without the foundational work of The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, whose preservation infrastructure remains a vital lifeline for truth in the digital age.

What makes The LGBTQ+ Archive distinct is its focused intent: to create a central, navigable, and community-informed repository specifically for federal LGBTQ+ materials that have been removed, buried, or made harder to access. Our goal is ensuring this knowledge remains available to those who need it, from researchers and journalists to advocates, educators, and everyday users seeking answers that were once public.

Importantly, it is also a living project. We know we haven't captured everything, and we need your help. If you know of a missing document, program, office, or federal agency that once supported LGBTQ+ individuals and no longer appears online, we invite you to submit it through our forms. This archive is made stronger through your memory, your care, and your community knowledge.

To access the archive, we will ask first for your email. We understand that might raise questions, but we want to be transparent. This step is not for marketing or tracking. It is a safeguard. In today’s climate, where LGBTQ+ data is vulnerable to politicized deletion and digital targeting, requiring email access helps us protect the integrity and longevity of the site and the people who use it. Your information will remain confidential and you will only be contacted if you choose to opt in.

This work is rooted in a simple truth: our stories, our rights, and our history are not disposable. They belong to us, and they deserve to be preserved with care.