The Cornell Local History Research Library and Archives are a department of The History Center in Tompkins County and are located on the first floor of the Tompkins Center for History & Culture. Our collections contain nearly 100,000 photographs, over 1000 linear feet of archives, genealogy files for over 2,000 Tompkins County families, and 3,500 books relating to the history of Tompkins County.
The Cornell Local History Research Library, named in honor of Ezra Cornell, is a place for discovery about Tompkins County's past. Use of the research space and access to archival materials is free to all Tompkins County residents ($10/day for out of county residents). Contact us in advance to see the archival collections used in the research and development of this tour, and to listen to oral history interviews with Nancy Bereano.
Or stop in to explore our current exhibit! Learn more at thehistorycenter.net/exhibit-hall.
Related Archival Collections:
- Tompkins County LGBT Collection V-65-1-5 courtesy The History Center in Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York
- 2019 - HERSTORY: Generation to Generation Women’s Oral History Project, The History Center in Tompkins County, Ithaca New York.
- 2019 - Local Sisters of Change Oral History Project, The History Center in Tompkins County, Ithaca New York.
Archival materials from The History Center referenced in this tour:
- Lavender Opinion, Vol. 1 No. 3, April 1974; Lavender Opinion, Vol. 1 No. 4, May 1974; Lavender Opinion, Vol. 1 No. 6, August 1974; Lavender Opinion, Vol. 1 No. 7, October 1974; Lavender Opinion, Vol. 1 No. 8, October 1974; Lavender Opinion, Vol. 1 No. 9, December 1974.
- Community Activism Collection V-58-1-3 (1,2) courtesy The History Center in Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York
- “Gays Dispute a ‘Court’ Ruling,” Ithaca Journal, July 10, 1976; Jim Meyers, “Nite Court vs. the Gays,” Ithaca Journal, September 4, 1976; David W. Reece, “Nite Court: Straightening Out,” The Phoenix, September 27, 1976; Doris Walsh, “Nite Court, Gays Sign Agreement,” Ithaca Journal, February 8, 1977; “Sex and Equality,” Ithaca Journal, February 8, 1977.
- Kanani Kauka, “A Life’s Work: An Interview With Firebrand Books Publisher Nancy Bereano,” Lambda Book Report, May 1997, 8; Stephen Landesman, “Firebrand founder speaks up: Gay publishing industry has changed, Ithacan says,” The Ithaca Journal, May 9, 2001; Trudy Ring, “Lesbian-Feminist Press Firebrand Books' Former Home Now a Landmark,” The Advocate, October 11, 2022. https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/10/11/lesbian-feminist-press-firebrand-books-former-home-now-landmark; Lynette Yetter, “Local Lesbian Landmark: The Firebrand Books Building,” Sinister Snapshot, February 10, 2023. https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=25e4728bbc8585d94bbed9b57&id=c83314c8ca.
- Wendy Skinner, “Bringing new energy to council: Alderwoman Roey Thorpe works for change,” The Ithaca Journal, January 21, 1994; Roey Thorpe, interview by Jeff Iovannone, April 19, 2023.
- Skinner, “Feminist bookstore’s spirit will live in writing center,” The Ithaca Journal, August 26, 1994.
