The Women's Library Printed Collections comprise:
BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS
The Library has over 60,000 books and pamphlets. In addition to scholarly works on women's history, there are biographies, popular works, government publications, and some works of literature. It also contains several special collections of published materials: The Cavendish-Bentinck Collection contains primarily pre-1850 items, such as conduct books from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and first editions of works by Wollstonecraft, Woolf, and the Brontes. The Josephine Butler Society Library features works on subjects including prostitution, slavery, trafficking of women, and attitudes to sexuality. The Sadd Brown Library comprises books and periodicals by and about women in the various Commonwealth countries.
PERIODICALS AND ZINES
Over 2,500 titles are held, some in single issues, but many in complete or representative runs. Titles range from popular magazines (Vogue, Cosmopolitan), to academic quarterlies (Gender and History, Feminist Review), special interest publications (One Parent Families, Executive Black Woman, National Association of Women Pharmacists), and older titles such as the English Woman's Journal and Votes for Women. The zine collection, dating from 2002, includes zines which reflect women's lives in the UK today.
EPHEMERA/PRESS CUTTINGS
The ephemera collection consists of thousands of mostly contemporary leaflets, flyers, handbills, etc. on topics of interest to women. A primarily retrospective collection of press cuttings is available; it is particularly useful for biographical material and obituaries on women.
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
A range of electronic resources are available for consultation at The Women's Library to complement the printed, archive and museum collections. These cover all aspects of women's lives and include periodical indexes and statistical data, as well as full text databases.
The Women's Library