Welcome to Jessie Street National Women’s Library

Jessie Street National Women’s Library is a unique specialist library dedicated to the preservation of Australian women’s work, words and history. The Library was established in 1989 and is named after Jessie Street, a lifelong campaigner for women’s rights, the peace movement and the elimination of discrimination against Aboriginal people.

The Library’s charter is to collect, preserve and promote knowledge and understanding of the cultural heritage of all women; social justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; international friendship and peace. Patrons are The Hon Quentin Bryce AD CVO; Elizabeth Evatt AC; Dr Beverley Kingston; Clover Moore AO, Lord Mayor of Sydney; Nadia Wheatley.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide for the Australian community a specialist library which collects, preserves and promotes the awareness of the cultural heritage of Australian women, facilitating learning, research and communication.

Our Aims

• To collect the published and unpublished materials which document the lives and experience of women of all ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds and of all socio-economic classes.
• To ensure that documents relating to Australian women’s lives and activities are preserved and made accessible.
• To highlight the contribution of Australian women to this country’s development.
• To support the field of women’s history.