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Image credit: The Women's Library, London Metropolitan University - see image reference below
See our collections on display in our free exhibitions "All work and low pay: the story of women and work" and "Archive tales: uncovering inter-war black histories" and related events
Key class numbers and search terms
Key references, latest academic works and acquisitions
Periodicals
Press cuttings and ephemera
Zines and artist books
Electronic resources
Archives (personal and organisational papers, oral histories)
Museum (object, textiles and visual materials)
Identifying images
Web Archive
Further information
The Women's Library, founded in 1926 as the Library of the London Society for Women's Service, exists to document and explore women's lives in Britain in the past, now and in the future. Printed material, ephemera, archives, oral histories and museum objects together form The Women's Library collections. The collections include a wide range of resources for the study of feminist theory, history and practice from the eighteenth century to the present. Material is held on the early feminist movement and suffrage campaigns, as well as second wave and contemporary feminism. The collections also contain resources on feminisms beyond the Anglo-American context. The periodicals collection is a valuable resource for tracing the activities of the Women's Liberation Movement, and the biographical collections include information on British feminists. The Library also holds relevant press cuttings and ephemera, organisational records and personal papers. A range of electronic resources further support research into feminist studies.
Key class numbers and search terms
The printed collections of The Women's Library are arranged in the Dewey Decimal Classification and listed on London Metropolitan University's online catalogue, available in the Reading Room and via the website Key class numbers and search terms for feminism include:
See also Sources for suffrage and the Women's Liberation Movement
Key references, latest academic works and acquisitions
The Library holds the following guides and bibliographies, useful for identifying further information and material on the subject:
Banks, Olive. Biographical dictionary of British feminists. II Volumes. Bristol: Harvester, 1985. Quick reference 305.420922 BIO
Boles, Janet K., Diane Long Hoeveler The A-Z of feminism. Lanham, MD; London: Scarecrow Press, 2006. Reading Room 305.4203 BOL
Davis, Kathy (ed.). Handbook of gender and women’s studies. London: Sage, 2006. Reading Room 305.42 HAN
Gamble, Sarah (ed.) Routledge critical dictionary of feminism and postfeminism. London: Routledge, 2001. Quick reference 305.4203ROU
Humm, Maggie. Dictionary of feminist theory (2nd ed.). Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1995. Reading Room 305.4201 HUM
Krichmar, Albert The women's movement in the seventies: an international English language bibliography. Metuchen; London: Scarecrow Press, 1977. Reading Room 016 KRI
Nordquist, Joan (ed.). Feminism worldwide: a bibliography. Santa Cruz, CA.: Reference and Research Services, 1996. Reading Room 016.30542 NOR
Pilcher, Jane. 50 key concepts in gender studies London: Sage, 2004. Reading Room 305.3 PIL
See The Women's Library's most recently published and newly available acquisitions
Periodicals
The Library holds a wide range of periodicals on women, including academic titles, popular magazines and campaigning newsletters. Some relevant periodical titles on feminism are Feminist studies, Feminist theory, and Feminist collections. Further periodical titles on the subject can be identified through the online catalogue.
For further guidance on identifying periodicals click here.
Press cuttings and ephemera
The presscuttings collections cover the whole of the 20th century and are particularly valuable for identifying contemporary comment where retrospective online newspaper coverage is unavailable. The Library holds microfilmed cuttings, up to 1979. In addition to the general press cuttings we also hold scrapbooks of press cuttings on women's liberation and equal pay for equal work.
The Library's ephemera collection contains information relating to women's organisations, including leaflets, flyers, minutes of meetings, agendas and all kinds of campaign literature. It includes ephemera for organisations such as the London Socialist Women's Group and the Feminism and Non-Violence Studies Association.
Zines and artist books
The Library's collections currently include more than 350 zines and 27 artist books some of which explore feminism.
Electronic resources
Electronic resources (online journals and databases) are currently only available to London Metropolitan University staff and students, and can be accessed via the online catalogue. with their institutional identification and password. London Metropolitan Academic Liaison Librarians have provided a list of relevant e-resources.
Archives (personal and organisational papers, oral histories)
A brief guide to the archives is available on The Women's Library's website. Further details of archives available for research can be found in the archive and museum collections catalogue or in the hard copy catalogues available in the Reading Room on the shelves adjacent to the Enquiry Desk. Note: when using the catalogue subject index please use 'womens liberation movement' rather than 'feminism'. The Library holds archives relating to feminist campaigns, from suffrage to the women's liberation movement and contemporary activism. The following archives, including records of organisations, societies, campaigns, personal papers, letters, and oral histories, are a small selection of feminist and women's liberation movement archives, see our full range of Source Notes for more specific subject areas:
5GCC Greenham Common collection
5HWA Records of Hackney Women’s Aid
5WSC Papers related to women and socialism conferences
5SWC Status of Women committee
5SRW Records of See Red Women’s Workshop
5WMA Women's Media Action Group
6WIL Women in Libraries
7SHR Papers of Sheila Rowbotham
8NLS National Life Story Collection: Fawcett Collection
11RIP Papers of Rita Pankhurst
Museum (object, textiles and visual materials)
The museum collection includes postcards, photographs, posters, banners and badges. Further details of museum objects available for research can be found in the archive and museum collections catalogue or in the hard copy catalogues available in the Reading Room on the shelves adjacent to the Information Desk.
Specifically the Library holds objects relating to feminist campaigns, from suffrage to the women's liberation movement and contemporary activism. The latter part of the 20th century is represented by the See Red Women's Workshop collection, the National Abortion Campaign Collection (posters), the Judy Greenaway Collection (posters, badges and textiles) and the Equal Opportunities Commision Badge and Poster Collection.
Identifying images
Images can be found throughout The Women's Library's collections. Many digital images are available on Flickr, Vads, the archives catalogue (click on the number in the left hand side) and Mary Evans Picture Library. Use Mary Evans Picture Library's fast service for a non-watermarked high resolution images suitable for publication. If you require an image which has not been digitised you are welcome to use our reprographic service. Normal copyright conditions will apply.
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Web Archive
Women's Issues is maintained by the British Library in collaboration with the Women's Library, London Metropolitan University. The collection was established in 2005 and has regularly collected web sites since then. It includes sites of women's organisations and campaigns, research reports, government publications and statistics pertaining to women, personal sites of women, such as blogs, and women focused e-zines. Specifically relevant to Feminism are sites such as Feminist Archive (South) and Feminist Library both specialising in 2nd wave feminism plus London Feminist Network and Manifesta as examples of 3rd wave feminism. History of Feminism Network and Laurelin in the Rain are a couple of examples of interactive sites and blogs in the archive. Jacky Fleming's iconic images of the feminist movement are also part of the collection.
Further information
The staff of The Women's Library can help you find material relating to your subject area; please don't hesitate to ask. You can contact the Information Desk staff prior to your visit via Email twlinfodesk@londonmet.ac.uk, telephone 020 7320 3515, or by asking at the Information Desk in the Reading Room on the day of your visit.
Image reference: Ainslie, Kathleen. Votes for Catherine and Susan and me. London : Castell Brothers Ltd. ; New York : Frederick Stokes Company, [19--?] Women's Library pamphlet 823.91 AIN
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