Overview
Collecting since 1975, the library and archive focus on literature from smaller radical publishers, women’s presses and DIY publications, documenting feminisms that are grassroots, accessible and intersectional. You don’t need to make an appointment or to register as a member, and visits are completely free – just come along and see what we have. Our collection is reference-only so material can’t be borrowed, but we have a photocopier and you’re welcome to take photographs. Mostly our journals, newsletters, books and zines are produced by the community they’re for, and we prioritise accessible texts over academic ones.
The main Library collection is held at the Sojourner Truth Centre in Peckham and includes:
Non-fiction
Our non-fiction collection consists of about 5,000 books focusing on the period of women’s and feminist campaigns between the 1960s and present day. The collection is very strong in the areas of the arts, mental and physical health, social life and community building, political campaigning and activism, and queer life. Our non-fiction books can be found on our online catalogue.
Fiction, poetry and drama
We have about 2,500 works of fiction from all over the world, most of which are in English, with some in other European and Latin American languages, including rare small press publications and collected short stories.
Our poetry and drama collections consist of around 1,000 publications, and represents a significant number of little-known and/or self-published poets and playwrights. Our fiction, poetry and drama books can be found on our online catalogue.
Periodicals
The largest collection of feminist journals, magazines and newsletters in the UK, our periodicals document a feminist tradition of circulating ideas, and supporting and connecting campaigns. An estimated 1,500 titles date from the late 1960s to the present day, and include DIY circulated newsletters and related ephemera, as well as more well known journals.
Below you will find links to an A-Z list of periodicals held and a list of periodicals by subject. Please note that these lists are not up to date or comprehensive. As of 2022 we are working on adding the Periodicals to Koha, our online catalogue, so they are indexed and our holdings defined, but until this is complete we advise checking both the PDFs above and our online catalogue.
Zines
We hold a small but growing collection of around 600 zines. In 2022 we had a custom storage unit built for these and we are cataloguing the titles, previously arranged in boxes by rough subjects, so they can be found alphabetically.
Badges
We have a great collection of badges from feminist campaigns since the 1960s, as well as a badge maker people can use at events and workshops to add to the collection.
If there is anything about the collection you are unsure of, just ask one of our library volunteers who will be happy to answer any questions you may have. For more information on the collections, please contact us. We are not able to answer detailed enquiries over email.
The Feminist Library at Bishopsgate
Parts of the Feminist Library collection are available at the Bishopsgate Institute. The Bishopsgate Institute Library is open to the general public and is well worth a visit. These are the collections we have housed at the Bishopsgate Institute:
Pamphlets
We donated our collection of pamphlets to the Bishopsgate in 2009. A radical format used to disseminate ideas quickly and cheaply, the pamphlets cover various topics including labour unions, feminist philosophy, Marxism, women’s health and queer politics.
Posters
Our poster collection consists of around seven hundred posters collected by the Feminist Library over a thirty year period.
Archive
The Feminist Library’s Archive of papers (1976-2004) mostly consists of correspondence as well as administrative papers and newsletters. Any collected archives from individuals or groups are also held at Bishopsgate.
Catalogues
Our fiction and non-fiction titles can be searched on our online catalogue. Our periodicals are in the process of being added to the catalogue, so please check this database as well as the PDF lists (below) of periodicals by title or subject.
We use a unique classification scheme for our non-fiction books devised for the Library by feminist librarian Wendy Davis in the 1970s. It uses women’s issues as its central organising principle and is managed and updated by our team of volunteers.
Please use the Bishopsgate Institute catalogue to search our posters, pamphlets and archive collections.
Visiting the collections
Please check our opening hours and come along to the Library in Peckham, there is no need to book an appointment.For collections at Bishopsgate Institute please contact them for an appointment.