NORTHAMPTON - LGBT activist Bet Power has been doing everything he can to purchase the house he lives in, and where he maintains an enormous collection of archival materials on the gay and lesbian civil rights movement.

Now the fight is going to court.

The Sexual Minorities Archives is in danger of shutting down, albeit temporarily, after the property's owner rejected Power's offer to buy it and had him served with eviction papers.

Power, a disabled 64-year-old transgender man, has retained an attorney to defend him in Housing Court.

With the help of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, Power received a mortgage commitment and, he said, the landlord promised him the first option to buy. Despite him making two offers, the landlord isn't budging.

Power said his attorney may sue the landlord, Helen Hayward of Hudson, through "numerous" counter-claims. Hayward declined to comment for this story or give any reaction to Power's assertions.

Power set up a fundraising page on the website GoFundMe when first trying to raise the money to buy the house, but now he also needs money for his legal defense.

He referred to himself as "a 31-year-long, responsible and timely rent-paying tenant."

In an interview with MassLive.com, he was noticeably disheartened, but said he took comfort in knowing that, no matter what, NACA will help him buy a house for himself and his life's work.

"There's no way that this person is going to win in destroying a national 501(c)(3) and the archives," he said, referring to Hayward. "We will go on."

The Sexual Minorities Archives gives tours to students and opens its doors to researchers. Next month, a college freshman is starting a paid job there.

"Where's the support coming back to us either from the town or from the Five Colleges?" said Power. "There are whole programs that are going to suffer."

It's unclear when the matter will go to Housing Court, but Power said it may be late January.

"My feeling right now is that it's just really sad that Northampton is most likely going to lose this resource," he said. But with NACA's help, he will get a bigger home. "It'll be me and the two cats and the archives. And we want to have as little disruption as possible to programs."