About
the Library

Our staff is committed to incorporating best practices in instruction, digital scholarship, and community engagement, as the Library advances a more complete story of human accomplishment. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history. Open to all, the Library is also committed to deepening its holdings by and about African American, Asian American, Latina, and Native American women as well as women of all political philosophies and socioeconomic backgrounds.

With the finest collection of resources for research on the history of women in America, the Library’s holdings are strong in:

Women’s rights and feminism;

Health and sexuality;

Work and family life;

Education and the professions; and

Culinary history and etiquette.

Open to the public, the library welcomes all researchers who wish to use the collections, view exhibitions, and attend events. As one of the special libraries within the Harvard Library, specific policies may apply.

In 2021, as part of a Harvard-wide initiative, Schlesinger Library convened the Inclusive and Reparative Language Committee to help assess, direct, and shape the Library’s descriptive practices. Inclusive and reparative description seeks to recognize bias and to replace archaic, inaccurate, and insensitive language in order to represent materials and their creators respectfully and equitably. We are currently in the process of reassessing the library’s own descriptive practices in finding aids, catalog records, and research guides. We encourage community feedback about this project and our materials through Ask a Schlesinger Librarian.