History of the Library

Louise Noun

The Louise Noun Library houses over 500 books from Louise Noun’s personal collection centered on women’s studies, history, literature and art. Books from the collection are available as a resource to the public to check out from the YWRC year round.

Chapter 1  |  Vicki Goldsmith

Louise Noun was a well-known Iowa activist, philanthropist, author, and art collector. She wrote four books on the history of feminism and co-founded the Iowa Women’s Archives at the University of Iowa. Shortly before she died, Louise called me to say that she wanted to donate her books to my Women’s Studies class. I showed up the following Sunday afternoon with two empty boxes, assuming she was giving us some novels by female authors. It took the whole afternoon and a grocery cart to load up the collection: poetry, novels, history, cultural studies, essays, criticism, art books, and her own histories of feminism in Iowa. The valuable collection has been at Roosevelt High School for fifteen years.

Chapter 2  |  Petra Lange

After Vicki’s retirement, the library remained in the Women’s Studies classroom, and students checked out books each semester to read and discuss. After my first semester of having the honor of teaching Women Studies, students would return to chat with me about a book that reminded them of lessons they had learned in the class. These students thought the texts they brought with them would make a remarkable addition to the library, offering to donate it for future students to read. Each volume was happily added to Louise’s original collection, and the library grew significantly as high school students donated their favorite books and used texts from college classes, sharing Louise Noun’s hope that these books for, by, and about women would enrich the understanding and lives of future students.

Chapter 3  |  Sonia Ashe

Petra and Vicki determined to give the collection a larger audience of young women to inspire by passing along the collection to the Young Women’s Resource Center. The YWRC will make the books available to curious clients, work to connect students from local grade schools and institutions of higher learning, and allow community members from the public to borrow books for free. Within these pages, we will continue to discover new heroes, uncover insights and find motivation to progress as women.