March is Women's History Month

     March is loaded with various observances, all the way from Dr. Seuss's birthday to whatever happens on March 31st (I can't seem to see that far ahead!).  March covers special events such as Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, and Easter, as well as special days for nutrition, cancer, vision, spiritual awareness, kites, crafts, and a thousand other things.
     However, I'd like to point out that March also observes Women's History Month.
     Gerda Lerner, Women and History (1986; 1993) said, "When I started working on women's history about thirty years ago, the field did not exist.  People didn't think that women had a history worth knowing."
     Well, times have changed.  Women have changed.  And so has the history of women's history.
     Women's History Month and the publication of women's history in this country began in 1978 as "Women's History Week."  It began in Sonoma County, California, and the week including March 8, "International Women's Day," was selected.  In fact, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Representative Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) co-sponsored a joint Congressional resolution proclaiming a national Women's History Week.  In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to a month, and March was declared Women's History Month.
     In honor of Women's History Month, we have a small wall display in our long, white hallway.  A brochure titled "Our HISTORY is Our Strength" is surrounded by pictures of famous women:  Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Mary Church Terrell, Elizabeth Blackwell, Babe Didrikson, Louisa May Alcott, and Clara Barton.  If you don't know who some of these women are, we have information right here in our library to enlighten you.
     Also, in the adult reading area, along the top of the low bookshelf near the Fiction section, you'll see books about famous literary women...books you can check out.  Some of these women are:  Maya Angelou, Pearl S. Buck, Willa Cather, Joan Didion, Anne Frank, Zora Neal Hurston, Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Lee, Alice Munro, Annie Proulx, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Anne Tyler, Alice Walker, and Mary Wollstonecraft.
     Learn more about women's history.  Visit The National Women's History Project (NWHP) web site at http://www.nwhp.org/.  It provides information about women's history, Women's History Month in March, Women's Equality Day in August, and related women's history resources and materials.
     The stories of women's achievements are integral to the fabric of our history.  Learning about women's tenacity, courage, and creativity throughout the centuries is a tremandous source of strength.
     Visit the Moultrie-Colquitt County Library and the Odom Genealogical Library for more information.  We have loads of information.