Women's History Month

Northern Illinois University

UNIV 105

Once upon a time...

Women's History Month• March is Women's History Month

– International Women's Day is March 8

– Washington, D.C. hosted a parade on March 3, 1913 that led to a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote (the 19th Amendment) being passed in 1920

• There are many books and videos about women's history

Women's History Month• In honor of Women's History Month we present

(drum roll here) The Leading Ladies• The all-female roster for The Leading Ladies

contains 31 names, one for each day in March• Featured celebrities include activists, athletes,

politicians, singers and more• Each name is accompanied by a relevant hint• Use NIU's Library Catalog to find books about

any celebrity of your choosing

The Leading Ladies• 1. Helen Keller (popularized Braille)• 2. Amelia Earhart (aviator)• 3. Rosa Parks (see December 1, 1955)• 4. Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady)• 5. Sally Ride (astronaut)• 6. Ellen Ochoa (astronaut)• 7. Carol Moseley Braun (senator)• 8. Hillary Clinton (First Lady, senator)• 9. Harriet Beecher Stowe (author)• 10. Jeannette Rankin (first woman in Congress)

The Leading Ladies• 11. Mother Teresa (humanitarian)• 12. Princess Diana (British royalty)• 13. Babe Didrikson Zaharias (golfer)• 14. Joan of Arc (15th century French knight)• 15. Oprah Winfrey (media mogul)• 16. Barbra Streisand (singer)• 17. Elizabeth Blackwell (physician)• 18. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (activist)• 19. Susan B. Anthony (activist)• 20. Nancy Pelosi (first female House speaker)

The Leading Ladies• 21. Anne Frank (known for her fabled diary)• 22. Harriet Tubman (abolitionist)• 23. Sojourner Truth (abolitionist)• 24. Clara Barton (founder of the American Red Cross)• 25. Jane Goodall (zoologist)• 26. Condoleezza Rice (diplomat)• 27. Maya Angelou (poet)• 28. Florence Nightingale (nurse)• 29. Marie Curie (physicist)• 30. Mary Leakey (paleontologist)• 31. Althea Gibson (tennis)

Search Time• Log on to this site: www.ulib.niu.edu

Search Time• Use NIU's library catalog to search for a given name

by subject or author– Author covers material written by a given person, such as

Harriet Beecher Stowe or Maya Angelou

– Subject refers to a given work's topic(s)

– Searching by keyword is not recommended here because such a search may yield a lot of irrelevant results

• Controlled vocabulary takes care of synonyms when searching by subject

• Boolean operators can be used when searching library catalogs

Boolean Searches• AND (default) means both of two terms must appear

– Example: "global warming" AND "New Zealand"

• OR means at least one term must appear– Example: "atomic energy" OR "nuclear energy"

• NOT means you don't want a certain term– Example: "mouse" NOT "computer"

• These operators can be combined

NIU Libraries• Books available in NIU's main library collection are

in Founders Memorial Library– Call numbers A-E are on 2nd floor

– Call numbers F-P are on 3rd floor

– Call numbers Q-Z are on 4th floor

• Some books are in special collections– Government Publications Collection on 2nd floor

– Rare Books & Special Collections on 4th floor

• Law Library is in Swen Parson Hall

• Music Library is in the Music Building

Summary• Women's History Month is a time to honor

geniuses and visionaries who came before us• You can use to NIU's library catalog to find

books and other library materials (such as videos) about people honored during Women's History Month, even if they are not featured in this presentation (!)

Results• Which noteworthy woman did you pick? What do

you like about her?• What resources did you find (books, videos,

etc.)? Which one did you like the most?• Did you find something focusing on someone

(male or female) other than the 31 members of The Leading Ladies as well as the one you picked? If so, who?

Resources• University Libraries (NIU): http://www.ulib.niu.edu• Finding a book in the catalog (online video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHHn5zI1W8Y• Keyword vs. subject (online video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLClln7icdk• Library of Congress• Honorable mention: Any resource dealing with Women's

History Month

Any questions?