In 1985, the Mariposa Education and Research Foundation pledged to donate a collection of books and materials relating to the study of human sexuality. Cornell alum David Goodstein ‘54, former publisher of The Advocate, left $51 million to the university to support and add to the collection. The Human Sexuality Collection was established in 1988 with the Mariposa Foundation’s donation and other donors’ collections of materials on queer history.

When Goodstein and Mariposa Foundation president Bruce Voeller approached the university in 1983 to donate the collection, Cornell officials had turned down the offer, saying the materials weren’t scholarly enough to have a place in the library archives.

Now, the Human Sexuality Collection contains records from national organizations, materials from the Ithaca-based publisher Firebrand Books, the Harry Weintraub collection of photographs and publications, and many more resources.

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