A Comparative and Structural Analysis of European Works in the Woman’s Building Library

Abstract

Among the collections assembled for the Woman’s Building Library by the 23 international committees, the 8 European nations (France, Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Bohemia, Belgium, Holland, and Austria) contributed over 90 percent of all works sent by the international committees (2772 titles). We used bio-bibliographical sources to locate the titles, identify the works, and identify the 1154 unique authors associated with works in various creator roles. In a series of data visualizations that supported comparative analyses, we focused on the shared patterns across the collections, the distinct clusters, and unique characteristics of individual countries’ displays, and the preferred “feminist” media. Literary works were the dominant category, followed by the educational and works on domesticity. Furthermore, we also identified distinct features of the collections, such as the preferred “feminist” media for each country. The analysis of authors uncovered those most favored by the countries’ selectors, who were leading figures in the ideologies of nineteenth-century maternal feminism. Further, we tracked the canonicity of all the authors and their continued visibility and integration in the memory of women’s movements. We also tracked their presence in the public information infrastructure epitomized by the Wikipedias in the languages of the collections.