Staff

Although there are no paid staff in 2008 the archive continues to function due to the dedicated efforts of our wonderful volunteer archivists (please see volunteer bios below) who take time out of their personal schedules to visit the archive twice weekly (Mondays and Wednesdays). With their help we are able to continue to sort and catalogue the mountains of un-indexed news cuttings and without this support the archive would be held in stasis. 

The Chair, Secretary, Vice Chair and remaining committee members also volunteer their services and offer background support for the archive by organising events, searching for new funding opportunities, developing and updating marketing initiatives etc. Ultimately they are responsible for guiding the archive in the right direction whilst attempting to heighten its profile and encourage as many people to visit this important collection as possible.

Robert Thompson (Chair)
Robert is the Chair of the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive. He began as a volunteer in 1999 and previously held the post of Outreach Officer & Volunteer Co-ordinator on the 'Queer Britain: the Gay Community and the Straight Press 1953-1988' project. He was also appointed Project Officer on LAGNA's '1967 And All That' project. Robert gave talks and presentations all over the country as part of his work for these projects which were both funded by Heritage Lottery grants. Robert continues to volunteer for LAGNA as Chair and supervises volunteer sessions.

Judy Vaknin (Secretary)
Judy is Head Archivist at Middlesex University and has been a LAGNA committee member since 2006. Judy manages the University's archives and special collections held at the Cat Hill campus and assists LAGNA with funding applications and project management. She is also LAGNA's treasurer.

John Loizou (Vice Chair)
John joined LAGNA in 2005 as a volunteer archivist and became a member of the committee in 2006. In 2007 he was voted in as Vice Chair. He has previously volunteered as a fundraiser for various charities including 'The Terrence Higgins Trust' & 'The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation' and also volunteered as a reporter for UNESCO (China & Australia). Whilst volunteering for LAGNA he also manages a company within the Financial and Corporate Sectors. John has helped develop the new website and will be editing its pages from April 2008.

Committee Members

Jessica Scantlebury
Jessica joined LAGNA as a volunteer in 2004 when she was a postgraduate research student. In 2006 she became a member of the committee. Jessica is currently based in Brighton and works for the Mass Observation Archive.

Oliver Merrington
Oliver is a professional librarian/information scientist. He was a founder member of The Hall-Carpenter Archives (HCA), later becoming a Director, helping the HCA to achieve charitable status in 1983. In 1991 he took over as the Honorary Secretary/Treasurer. By 2001 the HCA Press Cuttings had moved to Middlesex University where it became The Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive (LAGNA). Oliver was appointed Honorary Research Archivist by the university and supervised weekly volunteer sessions to help catalogue the collection. Oliver has been a volunteer ever since, and looked after its website from 1996 to 2008.

Peter Kelley
Peter has been a volunteer and committee member of LAGNA since 2007. Between October 2006 and March 2007 he worked as a researcher on the '1967 and All That' Heritage Lottery funded project. Peter currently works as a researcher for the homophobic hate charity Galop.

Rebecca Forsey
Rebecca has been a committee member since 2007. Between October 2006 and November 2007 she was Project Manager on '1967 and All That' Heritage Lottery funded project. Rebecca is a qualified librarian and currently works as an archive/film researcher at the BBC.

Tamsin Bookey
Tamsin is a qualified archivist and LAGNA committee member since 2007. During 2007 Tamsin was based at The London School of Economics Library as part of the Heritage Lottery Funded '1967 And All That' project. She helped produce the touring exhibit and catalogued the papers of The Campaign for Homosexual Equality, Bob Mellors and Peter Tatchell. Tamsin also promotes and DJs at the queer club night Unskinny Bop in Bethnal Green.

Volunteers

Anne Oatley
Anne joined the team as a volunteer in 2007. She has worked as a student adviser for the British Council; as a writer for health and social care websites; and as a researcher on the Black and Asian Londoners 1536-1840 project for London Metropolitan Archives.

David Thomas
David has been volunteering since April 2005, in fact he's the oldest volunteer, but only in terms of volunteering the longest! This retired teacher travels from Northampton to help at LAGNA. He is an active member of GALHA and hosts a gay group in Northampton weekly on a Tuesday.

Sean McGouran
Seán McGouran has been a volunteer since 2005. In the early 1970s he was a member of The Gay Liberation Front & CHE Belfast and from 1979 - 2000 he volunteered for Cara-Friend in Belfast. He was the editor of 'Gay Star' from 1982-1992 and of 'upstart' from 1987-2001 and is currently editing for 'upstart' online. Sean has also been a committee member for Belfast LGBT Pride.

We are also very grateful for the 15 or so volunteers who made an enormous contribution to the archive in 2005-2007. They include Cami Garcia, Peter Hoffer, Joe St. Johanser, John Loizou, Fernando Luiz, Sean McGouran, Jessica Scantlebury, Norena Shopland, David Thomas, Richard Woulfe and others. Volunteers in previous years have included Mark Collins, John Escolme, Oliver Merrington, Tim Parry, Robert Thompson and Howard Watson.