Network

The Italian Women’s Library forms part of the municipal libraries system, the SBN, and other important national and international networks. It is part of the Italian network Lilith, which gathers 30 Italian Women's Centers. It is also a partner of the World Women’s Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centers Network (Knowhow), which meets since 1991 every three years (Istanbul 1991, Boston 1994, Amsterdam 1998, Kampala 2002). The partner organizations are more than 350 all over the world, among which the most important are: the Schlesinger Library (Harvard), the IIAV (Amsterdam), the Women's Library (London), the Marguerite Durand Library (Paris), the Francesca Bonnmaison Library (Barcellona).

On a European level, the library is a partner of Aoife (Association of Institution for Feminist Research and Education), the network of universities and European centers which focuses on women’s, gender and feminist research; and of ATHENA, the advanced Thematic Network for Activities on women’s, gender and feminist studies in Europe, officially approved and funded by the European Commission (DGXII) within the Socrates Project since 1996. Finally, the Italian Women’s library is the coordinator of Wine (Women’s Information Network Europe): the network of women’s libraries, archives and information centres in Europe, which functions as the KnowHow regional contact.

Together with Aoife and Athena, the library was the main organiser of the Fourth European Feminist Research Conference in September 2000: an extraordinary event from a scientific point of view, which attracted more than 600 scholars from all over Europe. Moreover, because of the high level of interaction between the university programmes and the libraries, this event constitutes a significant step forward also in the work of WINE.

It is member of "Women's World", female section of the historical Pen Club (important writers’ association, based in New York and active since the beginning of the last century) which focuses on the promotion of women’s literature especially in those countries where it's still discriminated.

The close relationship between the library, the documentetion center and the women’s information system "ServerDonne" links together documents, politics, culture, historical memory and future perspectives. This results into an institution whose main characteristic is that of constituting a bridge between the worlds of politics and research, academic work and civil society. Certainly a unique experience at national level but also one of the most innovative on the international scene.