Founded in 1983, the Women's Museum of California is one of five women's museums in the United States. The museum's mission is to educate and inspire current and future generations about the experiences and contributions of women by collecting, preserving, and interpreting the documentary and visual evidence of those experiences. The museum aims to provide the community a broad collection of reference materials that document women’s history and the female experience.
The Women's Museum of California's Archival Collection houses nearly 300 linear feet of material documenting the life and work of prominent female leaders and organizations' commitment to women's rights and representation. The Archival Collection includes the first women’s studies program developed at San Diego State University, collections from U.N. Conferences on the Status of Women, the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.), the Older Women’s League (O.W.L.), California Women for Agriculture, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (W.I.L.P.F.), National League of American Pen Women, League of Women Voters, National Women’s Political Caucus, the American Association of University Women, and finally Planned Parenthood and the Women’s Care Clinic of San Diego. The personal papers and archival collections of prominent women include our founder, Mary Maschal; California suffragist sympathizer, Alice Park; Nancy Reeves; former California Senator, Lucy Killea; and Alice Barnes.
The Women's Museum of California's digital collection at California Revealed consists of texts, moving images, and audio recordings from the 1970s to 2000s. The collection includes many audio recordings from the 1970s related to the National Organization of Women (NOW), as well as a number of texts from the 1970s concerning teaching women's history.
