ALA women’s groups celebrate March as National Women’s History Month

For Immediate Release
Fri, 02/27/2015

Contact:

Lorelle Swader

Director

HRDR

312-280-4278

lswader@ala.org

CHICAGO — During the entire month of March, the ALA Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL), the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) Feminist Task Force (FTF) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Women’s & Gender Studies Section (WGSS) will recognize and celebrate women’s historic achievements during National Women’s History Month.

National Women’s History Month traces its origins back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was later observed in 1909. In 1981, the U.S. Congress designated the second week of March National Women's History Week, and in 1987 Congress expanded it to a month-long observance.

According to a recently published report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Women in the Labor Force: A Databook women make up over 86 percent of the library profession. Over the years, the ALA women’s groups have helped to develop evaluative tools, guidelines and programs to enhance the opportunities and the image of women in the library profession.

Here are some resources that are available:

Caregiver’s Toolkit (COSWL)

Women of Library History (FTF)

Women and Gender Studies Web Sites (WGSS)

For additional resources and information on how to celebrate National Women’s History Month, please visit: http://www.ala.org/groups/national-womens-history-month-resources.