London's Historic Women's Library Threatened


The UNESCO-recognized Women's Library in London is facing the loss of funding as London Metropolitan University seeks to divorce itself from the storied institution in an effort to trim its budget.


Founded in 1926 in a converted pub and counting Virginia Woolf among its members, the library is the repository for archives relating to the fight for suffrage as well as other women's issues such as health and reproduction, education, employment, and equal pay. The vast collection of books (including a first edition of Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Women), pamphlets and periodicals, are joined by objects and ephemera such as campaign banners, photographs, posters, and textiles.


After suffering bomb damage during the Blitz, the library relocated several times and became affiliated with London Metropolitan University. The National Lottery funded a new building in 1998, which was lauded by the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 2011, the library was recognized by UNESCO and listed in its UK Memory of the World Register.


See some ITV footage of the collections and read more about the closure threat here

Read about the campaign to save the library and sign the petition here!



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