Featured Bookshelf: 2020 Women\u27s History Month

Women’s History Month began as a week-long celebration in Sonoma, California in 1978 which was centered around International Women’s Day on March 8. A year later during a women’s history conference at Sarah Lawrence College, participants learned how successful the week was and decided to initiate similar in their own areas. President Carter issued the first proclamation for a national Women’s History Week in 1980. In 1987, Congress (after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project) passed Pub. L. 100-9 designating March as Women’s History Month. U.S. Presidents have issued proclamations on Women’s History Month since 1988. The University of Central Florida community joins together to celebrate Women’s History Month across multiple campuses with a wide variety of activities including the Women in STEM @ UCF panel discussion, a special screening of the student-produced film, Filthy Dreamers, and WomanFest 2020. You can also view the Women First at UCF Project on the display wall at the John C. Hitt Library. The project was a collaboration between UCF Libraries Special Collections and University Archives, Dr. M.C. Santana from the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, and Dr. Robert Cassanello from the Department of History. Full details about the project, exhibit reception information and the UCF Celebrates the Arts Panel can be found on the Libraries blog. Here at the UCF Libraries, we have created a list of books about women, both history and fiction, suggested by staff. Keep reading below to see the full book list with descriptions and catalog links. And don’t forget to stop by the John C. Hitt Library to browse the featured bookshelf on the 2nd (main) floor near the bank of two elevators for additional Women’s History Month books and DVDs. Note: WomanFest2020 and Women in STEM @ UCF panel were cancelled on March 16, 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns