Special Collections holds more than 50,000 books across several rare book collections. Books by or about women and women's history can be found across all book collections. You can identify books in our collections by searching the University of Exeter Library catalogue using key words, names or subjects.
The Hypatia Collection and the Nursing Ethics Heritage Collection have a special focus on women's history. The Hypatia Collection consists of approximately 10,000 books and journals by or about women, which were originally collected 'to make available published documentation about women in every aspect of their lives'. As women have historically made up a large majority of the profession and academic discipline of nursing, the Nursing Ethics Heritage Collection provides valuable insight into this aspect of women's history.
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The Hypatia Collection consists of approximately 10,000 books and journals by or about women. The books and journals date chiefly from the late 19th to late 20th century.
Part of its richness stems from the inclusive collecting habits of its creator, Dr Melissa Hardie, who acquired many ephemeral titles and books on subjects and by writers traditionally excluded from the academic canon in her aim 'to make available published documentation about women in every aspect of their lives'. The collection is strongest on biography, social life, occupations and history, as well as on literature (especially fiction) and the arts. In addition there is also the Cheris Kramerae gift of books on second-wave feminism and related topics.
To search the entire Hypatia Collection, enter *HYPATIA* in the search field on the Library Catalogue. You can also search *Hypatia* + *Keyword* or *Hypatia* + *Author* or *Hypatia* + *Book Title*. Then under *Refine your results* and under *Location* select *Special Collections Old Library*
You can also search the collection by subject. The books in the Hypatia Collection are shelved alphabetically within the following subject sequences and classmarks (click on the links to search the collection according to the subject sequences):
The heart of the Nursing Ethics Heritage Collection is the personal research library of Professor Marsha Fowler. In 1977, Professor Fowler began collecting books to support her research into the development of nursing ethics and the American Nurses Association code of Ethics for Nurses. Many of these key texts were not available to consult in academic libraries. At the University of Surrey, the Special Collections collaborated with Professor Fowler and Professor Ann Gallagher to develop the collection by acquiring further publications and materials concerning nursing, the history of nursing, bioethics, women, religion and health, with titles leading up to the present day. The collection was transferred to the University of Exeter Special Collections in 2021.
The collection comprises almost 500 books, periodicals and articles, including works dating from 1888 to editions of ‘Nursing Ethics: An International Journal for Health Care Professionals’ published as recently as 2017. Many of the books contain the names of former owners inscribed within, as well as annotations and underlined words in the text, highlighting their importance in shaping the study and work of nurses. Though predominantly consisting of English-language works, the collection also includes texts in Italian, Dutch, Hungarian, Russian and Japanese.
The online catalogue for the collection can be found here under collection reference EUL MS 472/NEHC. The six main sections of the collection comprise:
EUL MS 472/NEHC/1 – Texts from the nursing ethics heritage period, 1860s-1965
EUL MS 472/NEHC/2 – Texts relating to Bioethics
EUL MS 472/NEHC/3 – Texts and audio visual material relating to nursing bioethics
EUL MS 472/NEHC/4 – Biographical records relating to nurse ethicists
EUL MS 472/NEHC/5 – Histories of nursing ethics
EUL MS 472/NEHC/6 – Contextual publications for medical practice, nursing and ethics
EUL MS 472/NEHC/7 – Codes of ethics for nurses