Outstanding Community Service Award from STEPS, 1980 - 1980

The Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Philadelphia records are comprised of a range of business-related organizational materials dating from the mid 1970s through the late 1990s. These include bylaws and articles of incorporation, correspondence and internal memos, meeting agendas and minutes. The most comprehensive materials are staff lists (1984-1996), staff work schedules (1984-1985, 1996), sign-in sheets (1985-1995), staff logbooks (1986-1995), and call sheets (1992-1996). The call sheets are particularly rich in data, as each call was logged with its date and time, a code indicating the type of call, as well as a description of the call and the resources provided to the caller. Name and phone number of the caller was not recorded, presumably to assure the caller's privacy.

Among the earliest of the records which survive are two Victor Book Visible index card directories which were used to refer callers to bars, businesses, and service organizations in the Philadelphia area. The earliest datable card, which was later reused by writing on its backside, is for the Library of the Gay Community Center of Philadelphia on Kater Street, which was located there from 1976 until 1981. The latest date on the cards is from late 1984, giving a probable date range of late 1970s to 1984. Other early materials include the undated staff manual quoted in the History note of this finding aid, which is probably from 1976, and the remains of two undated staff resource directories. These materials are especially valuable in their documentation of contemporaneous LGBT resources in the Philadelphia area.

Besides the organization's own resource directories there are also some from other organizations including the Renaissance Education Association (transgender information), the American Red Cross and the AIDS Coalition of Southwest New Jersey (both on HIV/AIDS information), as well as Bell Atlantic and the Donelley Directory (both on human services). A printout of the Volunteer Handbook for the Gay / Lesbian Switchboard of State College is also in the collection. Whether these materials were used in conjunction with the Switchboard's own resources is unclear.

Fliers, pamphlets, and other promotional material received by the Switchboard help document a number of events, organizations, professional services that might have been referenced in helping callers. Material objects of note include awards presented to the organization as well as the Switchboard's answering machine, speaker phone, and teletypewriter (TTY)/telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD).