The Iowa Women’s Archives holds more than 1,200 manuscript collections that chronicle the lives and work of Iowa women, their families, and their communities. These personal papers and organizational records date from the 19th century to the present. Together with oral histories, they document the activities of Iowa women throughout the state and beyond its borders. The Iowa Women’s Archives is open to the public.
News from the Archives
- Welcome Frances Ritter
Please help us welcome Frances Ritter, collections archivist for the Iowa Women’s Archives (IWA) at the University of Iowa Libraries. Frances is from Lansing, Michigan, where her previous job was collections archivist for the Archives of Michigan. She studied history and German at Kalamazoo […]
- Interviews from the early days of Title IX made accessible through Three Women for Equality Fund
The following post was written by IWA Student Digitization Lead and School of Library and Information Science student, Christian Riddle. “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination […]
- Securing youth futures: 67 years of fiestas for education
LULAC Council 10 of Davenport, Iowa has supported students for 67 years and counting. IWA Graduate Assistant Michelle Garcia explains more about the history of the project.
- Dietz-Castel receives 2025 Benton University Librarian’s Award for Excellence
Miles Dietz-Castel has been named the 2025 recipient of the Arthur Benton University Librarian’s Award for Excellence in recognition. Dietz-Castel’s nominators highlighted his unwavering dedication, exceptional professionalism, and positive impact on the community served by the Network of the […]
- The Birder of Marble Rock: Lessons from Pearl Knoop’s Life List
Pearl Knoop's birdwatching record is an entry point for a much larger story about bird conservation.
- Here’s what entered the public domain in 2026
This year, we’re excited this includes the first four Nancy Drew novels, including works by ghost writer Mildred Wirt Benson whose materials are saved and available to the public through the Iowa Women’s Archives.
- An MD in the archives: Kerber Grant recipient finds medical history in IWA
IWA welcomed Dr. Divyansh Agarwal to the archives this fall. Agarwal is the first medical doctor to be awarded the Linda and Richard Kerber Travel Fund for research in IWA.