March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize the contributions women have made throughout American history. The first official celebration of Women’s History Month was in 1987, when Congress passed Public Law 100-9 designating March 1987 Women’s History Month. But the origins of the celebration go as far back as 1909, when a Women’s Day was celebrated in New York City.
Looking for a good book to learn more? We’ve got some great recent books for kids, teens, and adults on women’s history. Some interesting titles I ran across include Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History, about a group of aviation pioneers who fought to participate in the popular air shows of the 1920s and 1930s. As a runner, I was also intrigued by the children’s book Girl Running: Bobbi Gibb and the Boston Marathon. It tells the story of the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon. Don’t forget to explore our wide variety of e-books and audiobooks that also have fascinating books about women’s history, women’s biographies, and memoirs. Our new streaming movie service Kanopy offers independent films and documentaries about the contributions of women throughout history and contemporary women’s issues.
If you want to research women’s history online, try History in Context and History Reference Center. These online resources contain American and international news and journal articles, as well as information from reference and primary sources. You can find biographical information on women from yesterday and today in Biography in Context. Finally, for historical information about African American women, try the Oxford African American Studies Center resource.
Be sure to mark your calendars for these events honoring Women’s History Month –
- Family Movie: Hidden Figures
- Saturday, March 2 at Potomac Library, 2 PM
- Silver Spring Library Podcast Club – Discussion of the This American Life Episode 661, “But That’s What Happened, Stories of Women in Unsettling Situations Who Are Told That There’s Nothing Unsettling at All”
- Monday, March 18 at Silver Spring Library, 6:30 PM
- Independent Princess Storytime
- Saturday, March 23 at Davis Library, 11 AM
- The Better Angels: Five Women Who Changed and Were Changed by the American Civil War
- Saturday, March 23 at Rockville Memorial Library, 2 PM
- The Better Angels / Five Civil War Era Women
- Sunday, March 24 at White Oak Library, 2 PM
Finally, the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Commission for Women are celebrating Women’s History Month with their 3rd Annual Girl Power Contest. This year’s creative prompt is, if you had a superpower, how would you use that power to help girls and women?
From great books and movies, to engaging events, MCPL is there to help you celebrate Women’s History Month.