New on HeinOnline: Women and the Law

Women and the Law is HeinOnline's new library of contemporary and historical materials on the development of women's legal rights and the status of women in law and society over the past 200 years. This is a unique collection of materials encompassing books, scholarly articles, biographies, speeches, letters, legislation, government studies, constitutional amendment materials and conference presentations, with coverage from the 1790's through 2013. Major topics include suffrage, property and marriage rights, education, employment, and reproductive rights.  You'll find Women and the Law in the alphabetical list of HeinOnline libraries linked from the Law Library website. Read more about it here and explore a list of included titles.

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WLH: Women's Legal History

Today is the half-way mark in Women's History Month, and a great time to explore the Women's Legal History (WLH) website, created by Law Professor Barbara Babcock and the staff of the Robert Crown Law Library at Stanford University. The site focuses on describing and documenting the accomplishments and challenges of America's pioneering women lawyers. It features primary source material for those interested in the history of women in the law, with links to biographies, articles, speeches, case law and related websites containing materials on the more than 2,000 women lawyers featured. Holding a special place among these pioneers is Clara Foltz, California's first woman lawyer and a trial attorney as well as legal reformer and the first to suggest the creation of public defenders as a counterweight to prosecutors.  In 2011, Professor Babcock published a book, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz. You can find it in the Law Library at call number KF368.F585 B33 2011.  

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Women in the Law

March is National Women's History Month, a good time to check out some fast facts and inspiring stories about American women in the legal profession--past and present.  Catalyst, a leading nonprofit organization focused on expanding opportunities for women and business and supporting research in this area, has posted Quick Take: Women in Law in the U.S., with graphs, charts, and a great list of studies, reports, and statistical sources, with direct links.  For a look back at trailblazing women lawyers and the early history of women law students and attorneys in American society, browse through the biographies and articles found at Stanford University Law Professor Barbara Babcock's Women's Legal History (WLH) web site.  This is also a great resource for legal history research papers.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Public Interest Law Story

March is the month of Hofstra's Annual Public Justice Foundation Auction. It's also Women's History Month. "Our History is Our Strength," the 2011 theme, is superbly represented by the life and career of Clara Foltz, California's first woman lawyer and the inventor of the role of public defender in the United States. You can learn more about Foltz and other pioneering women lawyers, and explore online resources in the history of women in the legal profession, at the Women's Legal History (WHL) web site, maintained by Stanford Law Professor Barbara Babcock. Professor Babcock's new book, Woman Lawyer: The Trials of Clara Foltz, is now in the Law Library (call number: KF368.F585 B33 2011), on the New Book Table.
Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

New York Anniversary

Last Tuesday was an election day for New Yorkers, but yesterday was the anniversary of a momentous day in New York election history--November 6, 1917, when New York state passed a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote.

Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party had been picketing the White House since January of that year, followed by arrests and continuing protests. Although the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting suffrage to all American women, was not ratified until August 1920, New York's amendment and a march of 25,000 women in late 1915 in New York City were major events in the last successful push for the vote. The Library of Congress American Memory collection features a fascinating photo and timeline glimpse into the all-important year of 1917 in the history of legal rights for women.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Women's History Month at the Library of Congress

Learn more about Women's History Month at the Library of Congress. This year's theme is "Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet" and it honors the contributions of women in the "going green" movement. You can read about the 2009 Honorees here.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

Women's History CyberMuseum

Women's History Month is a great time to become familiar with the CyberMuseum of the National Women's History Museum (NWHM). The Museum, a nonprofit and nonpartisan institution "dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions" of American women, created the CyberMuseum as a platform for its collection of online exhibits while awaiting a permanent home in Washington, D.C., a milestone that will require Congressional legislation. The CyberExhibits here feature history and resources for key topics in women's history and rights, including voting, reform movements and pioneering women legislators.


Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat

The Women Working digital collection

The Women Working digital collection provides digitized books, pamphlets, magazines and photographs documenting the role of women in the US economy between 1800 and the Great Depression. Created by the Open Collections Program at the Harvard University Library, Women Working offers original source material and is a great place to go for information about working conditions, health, social issues, policy and much, much more.

Some examples of material I found while browsing the collection include: the official Girl Scouts handbook (1920); the diary of a farmer (1887); a pamphlet “in favor of female physicians” (1850), and an Abercrombie and Fitch style catalog (1913) from which ladies could order bathing tights.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat