Collection GWL/PERIODICALS - Periodical Collection

Original Digital object not accessible

Identity area

Reference code

GB 1534 GWL/PERIODICALS

Title

Periodical Collection

Date(s)

  • 1908 - 2017 (Accumulation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

1 row in archive store

Context area

Name of creator

(1991-)

Administrative history

Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL) has been providing information, resources and services since 1991. It developed from a broad-based arts organisation called Women in Profile, which was set up in 1987 with the aim of ensuring the representation of women’s culture during Glasgow’s year as the European City of Culture in 1990.

Since 1991 thousands of women have contributed to the growth and success of the Library. The collection has been largely donated and there have been scores of women involved in managing its projects, volunteering and contributing their time, expertise, visions and energies.

Despite the absence of revenue funding and a complete reliance on volunteers, GWL was quickly established as the central general information resource about and for women in Glasgow. People from all sections of the community donated books, magazines, journals and ephemera and by 1994 GWL’s rapid growth, both in terms of collection size and user numbers, resulted in the need to relocate to larger premises. Consequently, the organisation moved to Glasgow City Council-owned premises at 109 Trongate where it continued to expand and develop, providing learning opportunities informally in the context of the lack of any funding for this purpose.

The Library is a unique resource in Scotland but has always sought inspiration, support and links with sister organisations world-wide. Many of the Library projects, policies and initiatives have developed after peer group visits, contacts or discussions.

Over the Library’s history we have held hundreds of events, undertaken research, training and partnerships, visited and hosted workshops, conferences and exhibitions. We have visited international sister projects as well as making firm links with local and national women’s initiatives.
In 2000, GWL secured its first project funding, enabling the employment of workers for the first time. This was followed by further successful funding bids to facilitate new projects focusing on the provision of Lifelong Learning opportunities and an Adult Literacy and Numeracy Project aimed at women.

During a key period of development between 2002 and 2006, GWL secured its status as a Linked Library to the Scottish Parliament, appointed a Librarian and a Writer in Residence, undertook several research commissions on behalf of public bodies and launched its Women Make History Project. This period saw further growth in user numbers, with more than 10,000 people a year accessing the ever-expanding collection of materials and range of services.

In 2007, GWL was decanted from 109 Trongate to temporary accommodation at 81 Parnie Street (due to the development of 109 Trongate for visual arts organisations) pending a negotiated and agreed relocation to permanent self-contained premises at the Mitchell Library, for which the organisation worked towards a planned £1.5 million refurbishment. Whilst some archive materials and artefacts remained in storage at Parnie Street, project work continued and in April 2008, a new learning initiative aimed at Black and Minority Ethnic Women was launched. The new Women Make History Project researched, developed and delivered its first Women’s Heritage Walk and has since developed a further four.

In June 2008 GWL was successful in its bid for funding to the Heritage Lottery Fund and was awarded £410,000 to create a purpose-built archive space within the Mitchell Library premises and to employ an Archivist for three years to train volunteers in archive-related skills, conserve the collection and co-ordinate a programme of related public events. In addition, the Scottish Government agreed three years funding to develop GWL’s Lifelong Learning Programme at national level.

Like 109 Trongate, the temporary Parnie Street premises were also designated in 2010 as being required for visual arts project development, resulting in GWL having to move once again and take occupation of the Mitchell Library space in advance of planned renovation works. This move revealed, in fact, that the space could no longer meet GWL’s operational and strategic requirements in terms of size, functionality, vision and ambition. In the five years between the offer of these premises and the temporary move into them GWL’s growth had been significant, having increased its paid staff cohort three fold from four to 12 and doubling its number of core projects from four to eight. GWL worked with Glasgow Life to identify suitable new premises, and the former public library building in Landressy Street in Bridgeton was identified as an option for GWL by Glasgow Life as a result of the relocation of their public library service into the refurbished Olympia Building. With the support of Clyde Gateway the Library worked hard to raise money for the essential renovations needed to make Bridgeton Library fully fit for our purposes.

Having relocated to permanent premises at 23 Landressy Street in 2013, a major £1.4 million capital refurbishment project was completed in November 2015, when the Rt. Hon. Nicola Sturgeon MSP, First Minister of Scotland opened the new premises, publically declaring GWL as ‘truly a national treasure.’ This was followed in December by GWL being awarded the prestigious status of ‘Recognised Collection of National Significance’ by Museums Galleries Scotland and the Scottish Government, further cementing its status as the only Accredited Museum dedicated to women’s history in the whole of the UK.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Bad Attitude: Radical Women’s Newspaper, 1992-1995
Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, 1996-2018
Bust: US Women’s Life Style Magazine, 2001-2017
Broadsheet: New Zealand's feminist magazine, 1973-1981
Broadside: A Feminist Review, 1983-1987
CATCALL: A Feminist Discussion Paper, 1976-1984
Chrysalis, 1977-1980
Cosmopolitan, 1976-2008
Country Women, 1974-1978
Elle, 1986-2000
Everywoman: Current affairs magazine for Britain & Ireland, 1985-1996
F.A.N Feminist Art News, 1980-1990
Feminist Collections: a quarterly of women's studies resources, 1985-1993
Feminist Review, 1979-2008
Gender and History, 1989-1998
Honey: the magazine that makes fashion sense, 1980-1986
Harpies & Quines, 1992-1994
Harpers & Queen, 1984-1996
Hen's Own, 1983-1986
Heresies, 1977-1985
Journal of Gender Studies, 1991-2003
Jus Suffragii: International Women News, 1913-1991
Kinesis: news about women that's not in the dailies, 1983-1992
Lola Press, 1994-2002
Majority Report, 1972-1977
Manushi: A Journal about Women & Society, 1979-1996
Marie Claire, 1989-2007
MAKE: The Magazine of Women's Art, 1996-2002
m/f: A feminist Journal, 1978-1985
Myslexia: the magazine for women who write, 1999-2018
MS, 1972-2017
New Directions for Women, 1990-1993
New Woman, 1988-1994
Nova 1973-1975
n.paradoxa: international feminist art journal, 1988-2017
The Needlewoman, 193-1939
Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific, 1985-1999
Off Our Backs, 1971-2008
Options, 1982-1987
Over 21, 1979-1987
Outwrite, 1982-1988
The Pitman Magazine, 1962-1969
Red Rag, 1973-1977
Reproductive Health Matters, 1993-1998
Revolutionary and Radical Feminist Newsletter (Rev/Rad) 1978/79 – 1990
Sage: A Scholarly Journal on Black Women (US publication) 1984 – 1988
Scarlet Women 1976 – 1982
Schoolgirls' Own Library
Scottish Women's Liberation Journal & Newsletter 1975 – 1977
The Second Wave 1971 – 1977
She 1991 – 1998
Shocking Pink c. 1981 – 1992
Shrew 1969 – 1978
SIGNS : Journal of women in culture and society 1975 – 1993
Sinister Wisdom 1976 – 2011
Soviet Woman Magazine (english version) 1990 – 1991
Spare Rib 1972 – 1992
Spinster (Quarterly Magazine of feminist creative work)
Studies of Women Abstracts 1992 – 1999
Things and Ink 2012
Trouble and Strife, 1983 – 2002
VOGUE ,1935 - 1996
Wires : the women's liberation movement national information service newsletter,1975 – 1986
The Woman Worker,1908 – 1910
Woman's Journal ,1980 – 1998
Woman's Own: The National Women's Weekly,1950 – 1954
Womanspirit
Women : A Cultural Review ,1990 – 2001
Women artists slide library journal,1986 – 1990
Women in medicine newsletter,1987 – 2002
Women's art magazine : a Women artists slide library publication ,1990 – 1996
Women's global network for reproductive rights : newsletter,1986 – 2008
Women's health ,1991 – 1999/00
Women’s History Magazine ,2007 – 2016
Women’s History Notebook ,1994 – 2000
Women’s History Review ,1992 – 2009
Women's news : Irish women's magazine, in 1989 became: Irish feminist magazine, after 1997: Ireland's feminist monthly, after Nov 2002: Ireland's feminist magazine ,1984 – 2011
Women's report : a bi-monthly roundup of new and reviews by women for women, became later in 1975 : a bi-monthly feminist news magazine ,1973 – 1979
Women’s Review ,1985 – 1987
The Women’s Review of Books,1991 – 2006
Women's Voice (Series 1) ,1972 – 1976
Women's Voice (Series 2) ,1977 – 1982
Working with Girls ,1982 – 1987
Writing Women ,1981 – 1998

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

Further accruals expected

System of arrangement

Arranged alpabetically and chronologically within series

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      Description control area

      Description identifier

      GB1534

      Institution identifier

      GB1534

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      Status

      Final

      Level of detail

      Minimal

      Dates of creation revision deletion

      Created by N.Maksymuik, September 2022.

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          Digital object (Master) rights area

          Digital object (Reference) rights area

          Digital object (Thumbnail) rights area

          Accession area