Activism in Library Development: Women's Studies at Rutgers University, 1970-1995

Abstract

Women's studies librarians' view that women should be represented at the center of library collections and services generates conflict in the U.S. academic library, a system based on male-centered, disciplinary principles. An examination of the development of a women's studies research library in the Rutgers University Libraries System between 1970 and the mid-1990s reveals the bibliographic and political dimensions of the controversy. The persistent tension between bibliographic considerations and political activism warrants further scholarly discourse aimed at creating a balanced model for collection development and information organization in academic libraries.