News
19th Mar 2012
The Women’s Library Under Threat
The Women’s Library in London, the cultural centre housing the UK’s most extensive collection of women’s history, is under threat.
According to an announcement late last week from UNISON, London Met Uni’s board of governors has decided to ‘seek new homes’ for both The Women’s Library and also the Trades Union Congress Library collections.
The Women’s Library is home to an epic collection of books, zines, papers, art and audio visual materials, and has a long and rich history (it was originally established as the Library of the London Society for Women’s Service in 1926, and only moved into its current purpose-built premises ten years ago after being awarded a Heritage Lottery grant of £4.2million).
Its future is now in jeopardy, although there will be a campaign against the decision, with further details to follow later this week. To keep up-to-date with developments and find out how to get involved, follow The Women’s Library on Facebook or Twitter.
Jane Bradley
My reaction to the news that The Womenh’s Library is under threat is incredulity. How could such a national asset fail to be seen as invaluable? Surely it has proved its worth on every basis one can think of, not least loyalty of supporters, users, staff, volunteers, locsl, national and international communities!