It reports the findings of a series of qualitative interviews I conducted with individuals who have searched for queer materials in archival collections in Australia.
This paper considers how the lack of rich and explicit descriptive metadata shapes the (in)visibility and (in)accessibility of queer records within institutional archives. As a result, very little work has been done to interrogate and transform the ways that these materials are managed and made accessible (or not). While has been a steady increase in work to address the (in)visibility of queer histories and perspectives in institutional heritage collections, this work is often skewed towards outputs such as exhibitions or social media posts. There are numerous obstacles to overcome when conducting queer historical research.