Contact Info
Archive, Manuscript & Rare Book collections are accessed in Olin Library at the Special Collections reading room.
HOURS: Monday - Friday 9:00-5:00 by appointment
LOCATION: Olin Library, 1st floor, Danforth Campus
REQUESTS / APPOINTMENTS: 314-935-5495 spec@wumail.wustl.edu
*collections stored offsite require advance notice for retrieval and use
Questions about a specific topic? Contact:
University Archives: Sonya Rooney
Rare Books: Cassie Brand
Manuscript: Joel Minor
Local History: Miranda Rectenwald
Modern Graphic History Library: Skye Lacerte
Film & Media Archive: Andy Uhrich
Finding aids for Collections about Women and Gender Studies
Collections described below are located at the Department of Special Collections, Olin Library:
- Women's Resource Center RecordsThe collection includes scrapbooks chronicling the history of the WRC from 1973 – 2002, WRC group journals with both personal and business notes, WashU newsletters and course listings, photograph and video recordings of events, and various publications.
- Women's Studies Program Administrative FilesThe collection includes administrative information for the Women's Studies Program, including correspondence, planning documents, course descriptions and evaluations, curriculum changes, publications, event material, and more.
- Committee for the Education of Women (CEW) CollectionThis collection is comprised of documents that detail the formation of the Committee of Education for Women at WashU, which formed in 1963 to address issues related to providing substantive undergraduate and graduate degree-granting programs for women.
- 4th National Conference on Men and Masculinity RecordsThis collection documents the planning and promotion of the 1977 conference at Washington University. It includes audio recordings of various session and speakers at the conference, and related conference ephemera.
- Dean of Women RecordsThe office of Dean of Women was started at Washington University in 1913, with primary responsibility for all female students (commonly referred to as “co-eds”) on campus. Duties included recruitment, advising, student conduct, dormitories, and all other non-academic areas.
Published Primary Sources at Special Collections, Olin Library:
Women at Washington / [edited by E. Kendall Harrison].Call Number: ARCHIV REF LD5796 .W65Publication Date: 1940
- "Subject to Change" [Vol. 2 No. 3]February 1976 pp. 4-9 includes a special section on sexual awareness on campus, including an interview with Daniel Curzon.
- Speaking out : writings about women / [sponsored by Washington University's Women's Programming Board, Student Union, and Women's Studies Program].Call Number: ARCHIV REF HQ1154 .S58Publication Date: c1985.
Primary sources online
- Online Exhibit: A Celebration of Women at Washington University
a beginning look into this history by highlighting some of these women and their accomplishments - In Her Own Right: Women Asserting Their Civil Rights, 1820-1920Philadelphia-area collections highlighting women’s struggle leading to the passage of the 19th Amendment
Secondary Sources
- The development of women's campus culture at Washington University, 1853-1945 / by Matt McDonald.Call Number: ARCHIV REF LD5791.8.AB94 M32Publication Date: 1994Thesis (A.B.)--Washington University, 1994.