Records of Good Vibrations, 1964-2012 (inclusive), 1992-2002 (bulk)

The collection documents the operations of Good Vibrations and associated businesses (Open Enterprises Cooperative, Inc., Down There Press, and Sexpositive Productions) primarily from the 1990s to the early 2000s and contains administrative records such as meeting minutes, financial reports, board of director meeting agendas and meeting minutes, correspondence, employee records, event planning documents, press releases, draft marketing material, draft artwork for marketing, educational material, subject files, clippings, and video scripts. The collection also contains product catalogs, sales literature, original artwork, and memorabilia. The collection includes materials that demonstrate how Good Vibrations used marketing, branding, outreach, and community engagement to shift sex positivity into the mainstream. Additionally, the collection includes material that documents Good Vibrations' involvement with local groups and causes in San Francisco such as LGBTQ advocacy and community organizations, sex worker rights advocacy, book festivals, artist organizations, etc.

The collection is organized in two series.

Series I, ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, 1988-2012 (#1.1-10.25, 16FD.1-16FD.3, F+D.1-F+D.2, PD.1-PD.2sl, E.1), contains administrative and financial records related to the day-to-day management of a worker-owned retail business such as board of directors' records, employee records, staff meetings, and public inquiries to the stores. All Good Vibrations staff files show the type of information all employees needed to be aware of and interact with and Store notes files give insight to the type of inquiries the store received and the workflow associated with responding. Administrative records also include meeting agendas and minutes from the Continuing Education Team, which was responsible for employee training and development; Creative Team, which was responsible for visual aspects of marketing; Marketing Team and Outreach Team, which coordinated events, public relations, and advertising; and the Management Team and Facilitation Team, which provided leadership and direction to operations. Additionally, this series documents the sister companies under Open Enterprises Cooperative Inc.: Down There Press and Sexpositive Productions (Video Team). The Video Team records largely consist of scripts from the Good Vibrations Guide to the G-Spot, Please Don't Stop, Voluptuous Vixens, and Whipsmart a Beginning Couple's Guide to SM (sadomasochism). The collection also contains material documenting the planning, staffing, and evaluation of After Hours, a community education event series focusing on sexual pleasure hosted at the store. After Hours records also highlight the unique concerns of Good Vibrations employees relating to personal boundaries. Carol Queen, staff sexologist, held a leadership role in the company and produced many meeting notes, to-do lists, correspondences, and records related to her writing career. Additionally, Queen collected widely on subjects such as censorship of sex and the adult entertainment industry, academic societies focused on sex and sexuality studies, sexual health, sex worker rights, and sexual pleasure for older adults and people with disabilities. Some subject file material was collected by Queen and is titled to reflect this. The main collector of other files is more ambiguous, for example much of the material from Sanford Berman, librarian and anti-censorship activist, was in unopened envelopes addressed to Joani Blank and Leigh Davidson, Managing Editor of Down There Press.

The material is organized alphabetically. Many folder titles are original to the company's organization of this material and appear in quotes. Other folder titles were created by the processor.

Series II, PRINT MATERIAL, SALES LITERATURE, AND MEMORABILIA, 1964-2006 (#11.1-15.15, 16FD.4-16FD.5m, PD.3-PD.6, E.2, 17FDm.1-17FDm.3, CD-125.1-CD-125.2, Vt-328.1, DVD-154.1), contains primarily print material produced by Good Vibrations including product catalogs such as the Catalog of Toys, The Sexuality Library, and the Video Library that feature sex toys, pornography, educational books, and videos on sexual pleasure and sexual health; sales brochures that advertise mail order services and important customer information; promotional postcards featuring Good Vibrations branding and the Antique Vibrator Museum; promotional flyers for events hosted at the stores; and memorabilia. The series also contains artwork displayed in the in-store gallery, event flyers for community events that were likely distributed in stores, business awards, and staff photographs. Early edition catalogs highlight the marketing of sex positive attitudes in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The series is arranged alphabetically with audiovisual material and memorabilia listed at the end. Many file titles are original to the company's organization of this material and appear in quotes. Other folder titles were created by the processor.