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Featured Resource
American Women’s History Online » teen pick
Find information on a wide variety of topics relating to women’s history, from women in the colonial era to the modern feminist movement. This resource offers primary sources, articles on people, events and topics, timelines, images and videos, and maps and charts from a variety of reference works on women’s history.
A Chicago Public Library card is required to use this resource from home, school or work.
Related Databases
Use these resources from home, school or work with a Chicago Public Library card.
American National Biography »
American National Biography Online contains substantial biographical articles on more than 18,000 deceased American men and women from all eras and walks of life. Find biographies of Marian Anderson, Carrie Chapman Catt, Carmen Miranda and Sarah Winnemucca, among many others. The Women’s History section under Research Ideas offers a select group of essays and biographies for further exploration.
Biography in Context » teen pick
This database integrates biographies with related full-text articles from hundreds of magazines and newspapers. Use the Person Search to create a list of famous women by occupation, nationality or ethnicity; or check out its list of Notable Women.
History Reference Collection »
Search more than 50 encyclopedias and other reference titles related to the study of history, including the Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History in America, Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia and Working Americans, 1880-2005: Women at Work.
ProQuest Magazines and Journals »
Find articles from a wide range of popular and scholarly publications, including the Journal of Women’s History and the Women’s Studies Quarterly.
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Featured CPL Collections and Programs
- Celebrating Diversity: Women’s History Month »
Every March, the Chicago Public Library celebrates the achievements and contributions of women through events and exhibits, and by highlighting select Library resources. - Chicago Renaissance Digital Collection »
This collection highlights images from the Chicago Public Library’s Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature. During and after the Great Depression, African Americans in Chicago, among them many prominent women, created a new community on the South Side that was distinctly their own. Creativity, activism and scholarship flourished through the work of community leaders, performers, artists and writers.
Helpful Websites
- Chicago Area Women’s History Council »
The Chicago Area Women’s History Council promotes interchange between persons working on Chicago women’s history as well as supports projects in this area. Past projects include the publication of Women Building Chicago 1790–1990: A Biographical Dictionary.
- Chicago Women’s Liberation Union Herstory Project »
The Chicago Women’s Liberation Union was a grassroots organization working for the liberation of women from 1969 to 1977. This site offers historical documents related to the CWLU as well as memoirs and personal stories in the archives.
- National Women’s History Museum »
The National Women’s History Museum researches, collects and exhibits the contributions of women to the life of this nation in the context of world history. This site features online exhibits as well as a section for education and resources.
- National Women’s History Project »
This organization coordinates observances of National Women’s History Month throughout the country. Find links to biographies, women’s history museums and organizations, a quiz about women’s history and more in the Resource Center.
- Women’s History »
This resource highlights collections from the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress. There are photographs and scrapbooks from suffrage campaigns, as well as highlights from the manuscript division.
- Women’s History Teaching Resources »
This site features numerous collections from the Smithsonian Institution. Browse photographs of women, view an online exhibit of women in space and aviation, or listen to a selection of women breaking musical barriers.