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UNO Libraries Releases Historical Issues of Local LGBTQ+ Magazine "The GayZette"

In celebration of Pride Month, UNO Libraries has made all issues of "The GayZette" available online as part of the Queer Omaha Archives.

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The final issue of local LGBTQ+ magazine The GayZette was published in December 2016, after over 400 issues and migrating from a paper newsletter to an online publication. June is Pride Month and to mark the occasion, UNO Libraries has made all issues of The GayZette available online as part of UNO Libraries’ Queer Omaha Archives.

The GayZette was first published by the Rainbow Outreach GLBT Center as a single sheet listing local events before growing to include advertisements for local businesses, articles, and commentaries. The income generated by The GayZette helped fund activities at the Center.

George Broadway was the final editor of The GayZette, and managed the publication for over 10 years. In his farewell to readers, published in the farewell edition on December 23, 2016, Broadway noted they “tried to publish articles and commentaries that were interesting and informative as well as helpful to our readers’ personal lives. Over the years a number of local people and businesses have contributed articles, advertisements and information about other local events and I want to thank them all for doing so.”

Published from 1999 to 2016, The GayZette was the longest running LGBTQ+ publication in Nebraska passing The New Voice of Nebraska. George Broadway and Jay Tremont also previously donated many issues of The New Voice of Nebraska to the Queer Omaha Archives. As Sharon Van Butsel, a co-editor of The New Voice of Nebraska shared in the final issue of The GayZette, these publications “chronicled a large part of the emergence of Nebraska’s glbt community, providing a record of Nebraska’s coming out process and the establishment and growth of strong organizations” in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

Along with announcing the availability of The GayZette in time for Pride Month, the UNO Gender & Sexuality Resource Center and UNO Libraries will also take part in Pride Month activities in Omaha including the Pride Festival at Stinson Park on June 24, 2017. Look for the 'O' and stop by to say hello.

The Queer Omaha Archives is part of UNO Libraries’ Archives & Special Collections and officially launched in 2016. The Queer Omaha Archives collects and preserves materials relevant to the LGBTQ+ community in the region. Archives & Special Collections' material is available for the university community and general public at both the Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library and online.