'They have had to come down to the women for help!' Numerical feminization and the characteristics of women's library employment in England, 1871–1974

Abstract

Existing work on the position of women in English libraries illustrates the role of gender in the establishment of the profession. This paper adds to that work by addressing a gap in the published literature. It provides a broad indication of the numbers of women working in various types of library and the characteristics of their employment in terms of seniority, salaries, access to pensions and hours of work. It explores the period between 1871, when Manchester Free Library began employing women public library workers, and 1974, when local government reorganization changed the largest library workforces, those in public and county libraries.