This document provides resources for feminist activism and research that are freely available online. It outlines several types of open access resources including journal articles, e-books, digital collections, and subject guides from academic libraries. It also describes various feminist studies databases and collections that can be accessed for free, as well as options for free online reference assistance from libraries. The overall purpose is to promote open and free resources that can be used to further feminist scholarship and activism.

1. Feminist Activism is for Everybody:
Free Resources for Research & Action
Kate Angell
Sarah Lawrence College

2. Online Resources for Anyone
● Journal articles
● Digital
collections/databases
● Electric books (e-books)
● Library research assistance
● Academic library
subject guides
Audre Lorde
Image by K. Kendall

3. Internet Activism: Open Access 101
● Open what?
○ "...Free availability on the public internet, permitting
any users to read, download, copy, distribute, print,
search, or link to the full texts of these articles.."
(BOAI, 2002)
● Open why?
○ Proprietary resources (journals, databases) limit
information access to students/professors
○ Stimulates contributions to existing bodies of
knowledge
○ Authors rarely make money -- publishers do

4. Feminist/Gender Studies Journals
● Directory of Open Access
Journals
○ Includes over 7000
scholarly, peer-reviewed
journals
○ Full text, freely
downloadable articles
○ Wide array of languages
○ Can search and browse by
subject
■ 33 Gender Studies
Image by Karin Beil
journals

5. Digital Collections
● Internet Archive
○ Exists to provide people with
permanent, digital access to
historical materials
○ Free downloads in many
formats
■ Audio
■ Video
■ Text
The Raincoats
Image by Jason Persse

6. Digital Collections (Continued)
● Open Library
○ Project of Internet Archive
■ Online library catalog
○ Goal: to create a webpage for every book ever published
○ 1,000,000+ e-books available instantly
○ 10,000+ e-books available in online lending library
■ Can borrow up to 5 books for 2 weeks at a time

7. Free Online Library Help
Internet Public Library (IPL)
● Maintained by volunteer librarians/library students
● Access to newspapers, special collections, and authoritative
resources by subject
○ Gender and Sexuality Studies resources
■ Women Working, 1800-1930
● Can ask reference questions for free 24/7
Image by mccheek

8. Free Online Library Help (Continued)
● Radical Reference
○ Collective of volunteer library workers who support
social justice activists/activism
○ Activists/independent journals welcome to submit
reference questions
○ Useful online reference tools for activists
■ Feminist fact checking resources
Photo by Jay Morrison

9. Academic Library Subject Guides
● Librarians at academic libraries often create guides to
resources of a particular subject
● The guides are posted online and are accessible to anyone
● Provide useful books, websites, journals, research tips...
● Can find guides on Google using keywords such as
"Women's Studies library subject guides"
○ University of Michigan guide
○ Emory University guide

10. Women's Studies Free Databases
Voices from the Gaps Gifts of Speech
● Database featuring work of ● Can access text of speeches
women writers and artists of by women on international
color scale from 1848 onward
○ Biographical info, ● Can browse by last name or
interviews, essays, date of speech
teaching resources... ○ Toni Morrison Nobel
■ Interview with lecture (1993)
Cherríe Moraga

11. ME!
● Somebody's Autobiography
○ Open access blog
■ Updated several times per
week
■ Free social science and
humanities resources