Women's library

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A women's library , also a gender library, a lesbian library , is a special library that systematically collects works and documents by and about women. Some of these libraries are reserved for women; others are open to anyone interested in women's issues. Important subject areas of the books in women's libraries are literature by women, women's history , women's politics , women's rights , lesbian lifestyle, feminist theory and practice.

history

Women's or women's libraries have existed for centuries, for example in the convents of modern times .

In the first women's movement in the middle of the 19th century, activists in Germany founded women's libraries with the aim of collecting “the significant achievements that Germany and other countries have produced in the field of women” ( Maria Lischnewska , 1895). The largest women 's library to date to emerge from the first women's movement is the Women's Library in London, founded in 1926 . It holds more than 60,000 writings that document women's history since the 17th century, including the first edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's A vindication of the rights of woman (dt .: Defense of the rights of women) from 1792.

In the 1970s, women's libraries were founded from a feminist point of view as self-help projects of the second women's movement. Most associations are responsible for the women's libraries, the work is often done on a voluntary basis, sometimes municipalities or the employment office provide funding. There are also women's libraries that are affiliated with the ASta . Swiss women's libraries and archives are mostly financed privately or by a sponsoring association.

In addition to the women's libraries, there are also women's archives that specialize in content, for example archives for women musicians.

The employees of the German-speaking women's and lesbian libraries and archives meet regularly to exchange experiences. Your umbrella organization is the umbrella association of German-speaking women / lesbian archives, libraries and documentation centers ida

In Austria, women's libraries are networked with Frida , the association for the promotion and networking of women-specific information and documentation institutions in Austria.

Facilities

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

Luxembourg

literature

Web links

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ quoted in: Brief history of women's libraries, library portal
  2. ^ Rachel Cooper: A room of her own: The battle for the Women's Library , The Telegraph, Nov. 8, 2012
  3. ↑ Martina Schuler: Women's Archives and Women's Libraries, in: Library Research and Practice, Volume 20, Issue 3, Pages 348-364, ISSN (Online) 1865-7648, ISSN (Print) 0341-4183, doi: 10.1515 / 0006.348 , November 2012