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| “Migrant Mother” (LOC.gov) |
March is Women’s History Month, which pays tribute to the generations of women who have contributed invaluably to art, culture, politics, and social movements. Women’s History Month originated as a week-long national celebration in March of 1981. In 1988, Congress requested that the President proclaim March as Women’s History Month.
The government has a great website devoted to Women’s History Month with images, audio/video, and special exhibits and collections. A highlight in the audio/visual section is American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country, a profile of notable American women from the 19th century onward. Also check out the National Archive’s Women’s History Image Collection.
Hope College libraries have great resources for research on Women’s history. You could start in the reference section with A History of Women in the United States or the Notable American Women series. One major database is Women and Social Movements in the United States, which allows you to browse and search primary and secondary sources about the political and activist organizations in which women participated. Interested in women in local history? Check out these titles over at the Theil Research Center.
Another great resource is Discovering American Women’s History Online. This database pulls from digital archival collections across a range of libraries and museums to bring you the best on women’s history. You can search by subject, state, time period, and primary source type. You can also browse by collection.
Many good print and electronic resources in Hope’s libraries support research into American Women’s History. You can ask a librarian for more assistance with this research.
–Madalyn Muncy, Library Student Blogger