Gender and Sexuality Studies
Welcome to the Gender and Sexuality Studies Guide - giving you information on library resources and services relating to gender and queer studies.
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Where are the Gender Studies books in the Library?
The Main Library holds the majority of books for Gender Studies. Most of the books in the Main Library are on the 2nd floor or in the HUB (High Use Book) Collection on the ground floor.
The most common shelfmarks for Gender Studies start with:
| H-HX | Social Sciences |
| HQ | Women's Studies |
Remember the Library has access to thousands of e-books which you can access via DiscoverEd.
- Main Library - orientation guideThis guide will help you to find the Main Library, and to navigate its services and collections.
What if the Library doesn't have what I need?
- Inter-Library Loans (ILL)Use the ILL service to try and borrow books from other libraries or get scans of journal articles from other libraries.
- Book recommendationsUse this service to recommend the Library purchases a book that it doesn't already have in its collections.
- Visit another libraryIt may be possible (and sometimes quicker) to visit another library to get access to the item you require. Some reciprocal schemes and agreements allow our staff and students access to some other libraries.
Using the Online Library
The Library has a vast amount of online resources you can use for your learning and research which can be a bit overwhelming when you're first starting to use them. Our guide provides information to help you navigate all the online resources you'll need throughout your studies.
Resource Lists
Resource Lists are online reading lists that can signpost you to key reading materials. Some of your courses may have a Resource List embedded in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) but you can also access them directly. Full details are available on the Resource Lists: Information for Students webpage.
Key Databases for Gender & Sexuality Studies
- Archives of Sexuality and GenderArchives of Sexuality & Gender provides a robust and significant collection of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender. The database currently includes 3 collections: LGBTQ History and Culture since 1940, Part I and Part II and Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century.
- History of FeminismCovers the subject of feminism over the long nineteenth century (1776–1928) and contains an extensive range of primary and secondary resources in education, literature, politics, law, religion, society and culture.
- LGBT Magazine ArchiveA searchable archive of major periodicals devoted to LGBT+ interests, dating from the 1950s through to recent years. LGBT Magazine Archive includes the principal UK titles, notably Gay News and its successor publication Gay Times
- LGBT Thought and CultureLGBT Thought and Culture is an online resource hosting the key works and archival documentation of LGBT political and social movements throughout the 20th century and into the present day.
- Women's Magazine ArchiveAn archival research resource comprising the backfiles of leading women's interest consumer magazines published in North America. Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, Cosmopolitan, Essence and Seventeen are just some of the titles included.
- Women, War & SocietyThe First World War had a revolutionary and permanent impact on the personal, social and professional lives of all women. Their essential contribution to the war in Europe is fully documented in this collection of primary source materials sourced from the Imperial War Museum, London.
Finding Library Resources - DiscoverEd
Use DiscoverEd to find books, ebooks, journals, ejournals and more. Sign into your Library account using your University Login to manage your loans and requests.
Centre for Research Collections
Photograph of Frances Simson, Chrystal MacMillan and Frances Melville outside the House of Lords (Shelfmark: Phot.Ill.125(11)). Frances Simson was one of the first women to graduate with an M.A. from the University of Edinburgh. She pleaded for the rights of women in the House of Lords, and was later also awarded an honorary degree of LL.D. Image © The University of Edinburgh.
The Centre for Research Collections (CRC) is the main space for anyone using the University of Edinburgh's historic and special collections, including rare books and manuscripts, University of Edinburgh archives, personal and institutional archives, Lothian Health Services Archives, University of Edinburgh PhD theses, art collection, musical instrument collection and more.
The CRC is based on the 6th floor, Main Library.
Resource Collections for Gender and Sexuality Studies:
Your Academic Support Librarians
E-resources trials
The Library regularly arranges trials to new resources. Publishers are usually willing to provide trial access to allow us to use and evaluate a resource before making a decision about purchase.
Finding Scholarly Literature in Gender and Sexuality Studies
See a full list of subjects and their recommended databases at:
Feedback and Contact us
We'd love to hear any suggestions you have for this or any of our other EDI focused content. If you know of books, articles, videos or podcasts you think we should add to our guides, let us know! You can contribute to our Padlet here.
If you'd like to speak to us directly about anything mentioned in this toolkit or you'd like to be involved in helping us review or test future resources before they go live, you can find the Academic Support Librarian for your subject area via the links on this page:
Alternatively you can email our team using the following link which will direct your call to our Unidesk mailbox. One of our colleagues from the EDI working group will pick up the call from there and get back to you:
