The PNLA collected materials created by lesbians and by groups that were primarily lesbian-led. Most of the content was Seattle-based, but the collecting scope encompassed Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, and southwestern British Columbia. 

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact size of the PNLA’s collections. Lisa Lotus estimates that at one point 100 boxes were stored in her home, meaning that the materials publicly available at the Washington State Historical Society represent just a fraction of the total collection. Some of these records are at WSHS with public access restrictions, while others I could not account for and may have been returned to their original donors. Here I have inventoried all the record sets I am aware of that were part of the PNLA collection at some point and where they can be found today: 

Washington State Historical Society 

PNLA materials can be accessed by appointment at the WSHS Research Center in Tacoma, Washington. Three-dimensional items, such as t-shirts, are catalogued separately. To see all items accessioned as part of the PNLA collection, search “2009.53*” in the WSHS collections catalog. 

• Lesbian Resource Center records (1970-2004), 13 boxes 

• Dyke Action/ PUSH records  

• Verbena Health records (1992-2007), 5 boxes 

• Kathy Ross papers (access is restricted until her death) 

Lesbian Herstory Archives 

A small number of administrative records for PNLA can be found at the Lesbian Herstory Archives in their Organizational Files. These include a set of board meeting minutes and printed e-mails between the PNLA and LHA. The Lesbian Herstory Archives can be visited by appointment at their reading room in Brooklyn, New York.

University of Washington 

• Francis Hill photograph albums (donated by the PNLA to UW in 2007 because they were outside of PNLA’s collecting scope) 

Alternative Access to Periodical Publications 

These are the names of periodical publications included in the PNLA collection whose copies can be found at other repositories.  

• Out and about (University of Washington Libraries) 

• The Urban Hermitt zines (Seattle Public Library) 

• Matrix: Olympia’s feminist/lesbian magazine (University of Washington Libraries) 

• Women’s Press (University of Washington Libraries) 

Not Accounted For 

The following are record sets that used to belong to the PNLA that I have not been able to locate: 

• Seattle Women’s Ensemble 

• Dyke Community Activists 

• LeeAnn Huber art  

• Chris Spengler letters  

• Gloria Stancich papers 

If you have information about the current whereabouts of these materials, please contact OutHistory at outhistory@gmail.com.