The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America exists to document women's lives and endeavors. Its wealth of resources reveals the wide range of women's activities at home in the United States and abroad from the early 19th century to the present day. The library’s holdings include:

Manuscripts: There are more than 2500 unique manuscript collections from individuals, families, and organizations. Women's rights movements past and present, feminism, health and sexuality, social reform, and the education of women and girls are core manuscript holdings. Ordinary lives of women and families and the struggles and triumphs of women of accomplishment are richly documented in diaries and other personal records. Many collections, such as the papers of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Pauli Murray, and the records of the National Organization for Women, address political, social, and economic questions.

Books and Periodicals: More than 80,000 printed volumes include scholarly monographs as well as popular works. These cover topics including women’s rights, women and work, women’s health, women of color, comparative material about women in other cultures, works on women in the arts and in music, women and family, feminist and anti-feminist theory, and lesbian writings. Hundreds of periodical titles, including popular magazines such as Ladies' Home Journal, Ebony, Seventeen, highlight domestic concerns, leisure pursuits, etiquette, fashion, and food.

Photographic and Audiovisual Material: More than 90,000 photographs, ranging from casual snapshots to the works of professional photographers, create an unparalleled visual record of private and public life. Audiotapes, videotapes and oral history tapes and transcripts add the soundtrack to the story of women’s lives.

The library has two distinguished special collections. A culinary collection of over 16,000 books-- spanning five centuries and global cuisines-- is one of the world's most significant. The library also houses the papers of famous chefs and food writers such as M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child and Elizabeth David. The archives of Radcliffe College, 1879-1999, including papers of college officers, students, and alumnae, richly record the history of women in higher education.

While its focus for collecting is American women, the library has an abundance of print and manuscript materials bearing on issues around the globe as a result of American women's extensive travel and foreign residence. Some examples are letters of early missionaries in China, activists' accounts of the Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice, and the speeches and writings of activist and world traveler Shirley Graham Du Bois.

Detailed records for the library’s manuscript collections as well as books and periodicals can be found in HOLLIS. The catalog record gives a description of the item or collection and provides other important information such as offsite location or access restrictions.

The library dates its origin from August 26, 1943. On that day Radcliffe College received from alumna Maud Wood Park '98, who had been a leader in the movement for woman suffrage, her collection of books, papers, and memorabilia on women reformers. Her "Woman's Rights Collection" became the nucleus of a research library called the Women's Archives, which the college gradually augmented during the 1940s and 1950s. To honor Harvard University historian Arthur M. Schlesinger and his wife, Elizabeth Bancroft Schlesinger, who were strong supporters of its mission, the library was renamed in 1965. When a new women's movement surged in the 1960s and 1970s, the library's collections grew very rapidly, as feminist activists highlighted the importance of women's history and created their own documents and publications.

The library is housed in the former Radcliffe College library building, completely renovated in 2004-05 to become a state-of-the-art facility. It is part of Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, where resident fellows each year create anew a vital intellectual community.

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Last modified 03 Jul 2008