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As one of the founding fathers of our country, Ben Franklin was busy doing other things too. For instance, he fathered a son, William, out of wedlock. With his common-law wife Deborah, he took custody of the boy and raised him as his own. The Oral History project involves the taping, transcribing, indexing and filing of interviews with long time participants or important individuals in the leather community. The transcribed histories form one of the most important information sources in the LA&M's developing collections. A walk down memory lane with Aubrey's Playroom in mp3 format. Aubrey's Playroom was a 60 minute internet talk show hosted by Aubrey Hart Sparks and featured diverse conversations for the Leather, Fetish, BDSM & Alternative Sexuality Communities. The show ran from 1999 to 2004 totaling 123 interviews. Creator of the Leather Pride Flag, author of the Leather History Timeline, member of the Chicago Hellfire Club, mammalogist, presenter, author, co-founder of the Leather Archives & Museum. Every year, the American Library Association sponsors American Library Week, a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. For the second year in a row, the Leather Archives & Museum (and its library, the Teri Rose Memorial Library) marked the occasion by surveying its members and supporters about their kinky reading. Chuck Renslow became interested in photography while attending Lane Technical High School. He joined the Photography Club there, supplementing what he learned from his peers by taking classes in photography at Wright College. Authored by Tony DeBlase and continued by the community, the Leather History Timeline gives us a quick look at instances in the leather culture that impacted the way we live today. We are still taking contributions to the timeline and welcome any additions. The Colors of Cycle MC web exhibit has been mounted to display artifacts from Cycle MC’s vibrant and colorful 14 year history. The exhibit also seeks to provide information about Cycle and its publication, Wheels Magazine. During National Library Week 2006, John Bradford, asked kinky people to submit the titles of their favorite alt-sex books. The response was enthusiastic. The LA&M has compiled the responses from this call and seperated fiction and non-fiction. The titles were then ranked according to their ranking on Amazon.com at the time (April 2006). The 2 lists below are the end results. This collection consists of erotic original artwork and prints. The works are stored in flat files in the archives of the LA&M. The list represents a sample of the artists in our permanent collection. Archival Audio, Video and Film - Unpublished video and film is housed in this collection. “Homemade” documentation of people, places or events is preserved on audio tapes, video tapes and 16mm film. All published video is cataloged under the reference collection. Photographic prints (as art) are stored in flat files in the archives room. Photography taken to document events, people or places are stored in binders on shelving in the archives room or electronic format. The on-line video sharing resource known as You Tube is an excellent way for others to share their videos with the world. Not only can you watch videos from the collections of the Leather Archives & Museum but you can see videos from others that pertain to the lifestyle. See what we’ve fond by others on You Tube. Every year, the Board of Directors awards the Chuck Renslow President’s Award to individuals or groups in the leather community that show overwhelming support for the Leather Archives & Museum and it’s mission. "The compilation, preservation and maintenance of leather lifestyle and related lifestyles [including but not limited to the Gay and Lesbian communities], history, archives and memorabilia for historical, educational and research purposes." Our Fireside Chat program highlights well known and well-respected members of our community that have a history to share. Here you can either watch a clip of the interview or listen to a recording complete with questions from the audience.
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