| The Women's Library | |
|---|---|
 The Women's Library reading room in the LSE library | |
 | |
| Location | Lionel Robbins Building,The London School of Economics and Political Science, 10 Portugal Street,Westminster, London, WC2A 2HD, England |
| Type | Library |
| Established | 1926 |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | Books,journals, newspapers, magazines,sound and music recordings, archives, pamphlets, drawings andmanuscripts |
| Size |
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| Access and use | |
| Access requirements | Open to anyone with a need to use the collections and services and those coming to see exhibitions |
| Other information | |
| Website | The Women's Library |
TheWomen's Library is England's main library and museum resource on women and thewomen's movement, concentrating on Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has an institutional history as a coherent collection dating back to the mid-1920s, although its "core" collection dates from a library established byRuth Cavendish Bentinck in 1909. Since 2013, the library has been in the custody of theLondon School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), which manages the collection as part of theBritish Library of Political and Economic Science in a dedicated area known as the Women's Library.
The printed collections at the Women's Library contain more than 60,000 books and pamphlets, more than 3,500 periodical titles (series of magazines and journals), and more than 500zines. In addition to scholarly works onwomen's history, there are biographies, popular works, government publications, and some works of literature. There are also extensivepress cutting collections.[1]
The Library's museum collection holds more than 5,000 objects, including over 100 suffrage and modern campaigning banners, photographs, posters, badges, textiles, and ceramics. There are more than 500 personal and organisational archives, ranging in size from one to several hundred boxes.[1]
In February 2007, the Women's Library collections were designated by theMuseums, Libraries and Archives Council for their "outstanding national and international importance" (theDesignation Scheme is now overseen by theArts Council).[2] In 2011, items from the women's suffrage archives held at The Women's Library were inscribed inUNESCO'sUK Memory of the World Register as the "Documentary Heritage of the Women's Suffrage Movement in Britain, 1865–1928".[3]
The Women's Library traces its roots to theLondon Society for Women's Suffrage, a group established in 1867 tocampaign for the right to vote. The "core" collection[4] was the Cavendish-Bentinck library that was founded in 1909 byRuth Cavendish Bentinck.[5] The collection was organised by the inaugural librarian,Vera Douie, who was appointed on 1 January 1926. At this time, and for many years afterward, it was called the Women's Service Library, in accordance with the name of the society which since the outbreak of World War I had been called the London Society for Women's Service. Douie remained in post for 41 years, during which time she took a small but interesting society library and turned it into a major resource with an international reputation.
It was originally housed in a convertedpublic house inMarsham Street,Westminster, which in the 1930s was developed into Women's Service House, a major women's centre within walking distance of Parliament. Members of the society and library included writers such asVera Brittain andVirginia Woolf, as well as politicians, most notablyEleanor Rathbone. Woolf wrote about the Library toEthel Smyth: "I think it is almost the only satisfactory deposit for strayguineas [money]".[6]
During World War II it sufferedbomb damage, and the library had no permanent home until 1957, when it moved to Wilfred Street, nearVictoria railway station. By this time, the society and library had changed their names to theFawcett Society and the Fawcett Library, in commemoration of the non-militant suffrage leaderMillicent Garrett Fawcett, and of her daughter,Philippa Fawcett, an influential educationist and financial supporter of the society.
In the 1970s, the Fawcett Society found it increasingly difficult to maintain the library.[7] In 1977, it was taken over by the City of London Polytechnic. Coincidentally the move to the Polytechnic's library was overseen byRita Pankhurst who wasSylvia Pankhurst's daughter-in-law.[8] That polytechnic became, in 1992,London Guildhall University.[7][9] The library subsequently spent nearly 25 years in a cramped basement increasingly liable to flooding, while increasing considerably its stock, its user base and its contacts with other such resources both nationally and internationally.
It became increasingly apparent that these facilities were not adequate to store the collection, and a project was launched to improve the housing of the material and increase access to the library by members of the general public. In 1998, theHeritage Lottery Fund awarded a grant of £4.2 million to the University for a new library building.[10] The site chosen, in Old Castle Street,Aldgate, in theEast End of London, used to be awash house, a place of women's labour, and the architectsmaintained its facade. Changing its name from the "Fawcett Library" to the "Women's Library", the new institution opened to the public in February 2002.[11] Its new purpose-built home byWright & Wright Architects, encompassing areading room with open stacks, an exhibition hall, several education spaces, and specialist collection storage, was the recipient of an award from theRoyal Institute of British Architects.[12] In August of the same year, London Guildhall University merged with theUniversity of North London to becomeLondon Metropolitan University.[9]
Under the auspices of LMU, the Women's Library hosted a changing programme of exhibitions in its museum space; topics included women's suffrage, beauty queens, office work, 1980s politics, women's liberation, women's work and women's domestic crafts. Its exhibition and education programme on prostitution was long-listed for the 2007Gulbenkian Prize.[13] It held public talks, showed films, ran reading groups and short courses, offered guided tours, and worked with schools and community groups.
Three individuals were recognised by theUK honours system for their work with the library: Vera Douie OBE;[14] David Doughan MBE (Services to Women's Studies);[15] and Jean Florence Holder MBE (for voluntary service to the Women's Library).[16]
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In spring 2012, London Metropolitan University, arguing that too much of the library's usage came from outside the university, announced that it had decided to attempt to find a new home, owner or sponsor for the library's holdings, and threatened to reduce services to one day per week if such a sponsor could not be found. The University also hoped to convert the library building to house a lecture theatre.[17] A Save the Women's Library Campaign was set up by the London Met branch ofUNISON. It aimed to keep the Women's Library's collections intact, retain the expertise of its staff, and remain in its dedicated building.[18] A petition opposing the curtailment or closure of the library ultimately attracted more than 12,000 signatures. It called the Women's Library "one of the most magnificent specialist libraries in the world" and a "national asset".[19]
The University invited bids from interested institutions, and the proposal of theLondon School of Economics (LSE) was found the most acceptable. It guaranteed to preserve, maintain and develop the collections as an individual entity within theBritish Library of Political and Economic Science, with a dedicated reading room and archival space. The LSE also offered continued employment to members of permanent staff who wished to remain with the library. The transfer became effective on 2 January 2013. The existing building was not handed over, but remained part of London Metropolitan University.
Personal archives held at the Women's Library include those ofAlice Abadam,Lesley Abdela,Adelaide Anderson,Elizabeth Garrett Anderson,Louisa Garrett Anderson,Margery Corbett Ashby,Lydia Becker,Helen Bentwich,Rosa May Billinghurst,Chili Bouchier,Elsie Bowerman,Josephine Butler,Barbara Cartland,Jill Craigie,Emily Wilding Davison,Charlotte Despard,Emily Faithfull,Millicent Garrett Fawcett,Vida Goldstein,Teresa Billington-Greig,Elspeth Howe,Hazel Hunkins Hallinan,Mary Lowndes (see alsoArtists' Suffrage League Papers),Constance Lytton,Harriet Martineau,Edith How-Martyn,Angela Mason,Hannah More,Helena Normanton,Eleanor Rathbone,Claire Rayner,Sheila Rowbotham,Maude Royden,Myra Sadd Brown,Nancy Seear, Baroness Seear,Elaine Showalter,William Thomas Stead,Mary Stott,Louisa Twining andHenry Wilson.
Organisation and campaign archives include theFawcett Society, theArtists' Suffrage League, several sets of papers related to theGreenham Common Women's Peace Camp, theInternational Alliance of Women,Miss Great Britain, theLondon Society for Women's Suffrage, theNational Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, theNational Women's Register,One Parent Families,Gingerbread, campaigns for the repeal of theContagious Diseases Acts, especially the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene, theInternational Council of Women, theOpen Door Council, theScottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, theSix Point Group,St Joan's International Alliance, theWomen's Freedom League,Women in Black UK, the National Federation ofWomen's Institutes, theWomen's National Anti-Suffrage League and theWomen's Tax Resistance League.
The Friends of the Women's Library have also played a vital role in promoting and ensuring the continued growth and recognition of The Women's Library. The Friends of The Women's Library have supported the library for more than 30 years, and through many changing circumstances. The members raise much needed funds for the enhancement of the collections, and have purchased rare items at auction, financed the digitisation of recorded interviews, and sponsored exhibitions. They also organise visits to places and collections of special interest in British women's history.[20]
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