8M

On the occasion of International Women’s Day (8 March), several libraries of the Servei de Biblioteques i Documentació de la Universitat de València have organised different activities and initiatives to highlight the role of women in society, knowledge and culture, while also encouraging reflection and participation within the university community.

Collection of the month in Trobes

In the Trobes catalogue, the March collection of the month is dedicated to “The Spanish Civil War written by women”. This selection is linked to the virtual exhibition “122 novels about the Spanish Civil War written by women (1990–2025)”, published to commemorate International Women’s Day.

8M Thematic Guide

The library team has also updated the subject guide dedicated to International Women’s Day (8 March), which brings together resources, readings and useful information related to this commemoration. The guide is available online.

Biblioteca de Ciències Socials

At the Biblioteca de Ciències Socials, and in connection with the current exhibition on women in the cooperative movement, a bibliographic display has been prepared featuring books that explore the relationship between women and work. A board has also been placed next to the display so that users can suggest additional books on the topic that are not included in the selection.

In addition, to mark the 8M, the library will place a collection of biographies of notable women in history on the weeding table so that users may take them.

Biblioteca d’Educació

The Biblioteca d’Educació has decorated its spaces with purple ribbons and created a special display dedicated to International Women’s Day. Among the planned activities is a participatory panel in the Createca, featuring images of women who are role models in education, research and culture, such as educators, teachers and writers. The panel will include a space where students can respond to the question: “Which female role model would you add?”, writing their suggestions on a board prepared for this purpose.

Another participatory activity under the motto “The library is also violet” will consist of hanging a cord in the Createca where students can place cards with quotes, reflections or female role models written with purple markers. The cards will be attached with clips and the final result will later be shared on social media.

Finally, the Createca board will pose the question “Which woman has been important in your education?”, inviting students to answer with post-its and share personal experiences, recognising figures such as mothers, grandmothers or teachers.

Biblioteca de Ciències de la Salut

The Biblioteca de Ciències de la Salut joins the celebration of International Women’s Day with the bibliographic exhibition “Women and Medicine”, displayed in its exhibition space “Ací hi ha tema.”

The exhibition brings together a selection of books that explore the role of women in the field of health sciences from different perspectives: as professionals and scientists, as protagonists of stories of resilience in the face of illness, and as key figures in the development of medicine.

With this initiative, the library aligns with this year’s motto from the Spanish Ministry of Culture: “Equal to create, free to live.”

Biblioteca d’Humanitats

At the Biblioteca d’Humanitats, visitors can see the exhibition “Images of violence, gazes of resistance: gender-based violence in the Bible and its visual reception”, displayed on the ground floor from 3 to 31 March 2026. The exhibition invites reflection on representations of gender-based violence in biblical texts and their visual interpretation over time.

The library lobby also features painted textiles created by the Associació de Dones de Picanya, as well as a participatory canvas prepared by staff member Mariví Martín, where students are invited to write messages or reflections related to International Women’s Day.

In addition, the library has produced the virtual exhibition “122 novels about the Spanish Civil War written by women (1990–2025)”, in collaboration with MNLAb, the Memory Literature Laboratory of the Department of Spanish Philology. The exhibition will be presented on 9 March at the university event “Reading, interpreting and narrating on video: The Spanish Civil War written by women in 100 novels”, organised within the activities of the Vice-Dean’s Office for Culture, Equality, Inclusive Policies and Sustainability.

Biblioteca Històrica

The Biblioteca Històrica has highlighted the figure of Simone May, author of Desnudez (La novela pasional del nudismo) (1933), a work that defended bodily freedom and women’s emancipation in the 1930s. The copy preserved at the Biblioteca Històrica de la Universitat de València, which survived the destruction of books ordered by the dictatorship after 1939, is today a valuable heritage item and an important source for the study of women’s history.

In addition, the library has created a subcollection within the Trobes Heritage Collection dedicated to María Josefa Pimentel, Duchess of Osuna, one of the most prominent enlightened aristocrats of her time, known for her cultural and artistic patronage. The subcollection gathers the books currently identified and catalogued in the library as belonging to her collection, which formed part of one of the most important noble bibliographic collections in Spain at the time.

Biblioteca de Ciències

The Biblioteca de Ciències participates in an initiative by the Buval consortium with an installation analysing the authorship of a selection of books from the field of computer science. The initiative highlights gender inequality in this area: of the 50 books analysed, 37 are written by men, 3 by women and 10 in mixed collaboration.

In addition, the library has prepared a book display dedicated to women in the fields of science and technology and is hosting in the lobby on floor 0 the exhibition “Pioneers of Engineering”, aimed at highlighting the role of women in this field.

Biblioteca de Psicologia i Esport

The Biblioteca de Psicologia i Esport joins the celebration of International Women’s Day (8 March) with the thematic exhibition “A Race Towards Equality”, located at the library entrance. The display features a selection of short stories, novels and comics addressing feminism, sisterhood and women’s rights, accompanied by quotes from influential women that encourage reflection on the role of sport and psychology in empowerment and equality.

Through all these activities, the Servei de Biblioteques i Documentació de la Universitat de València reaffirms its commitment to gender equality, the visibility of women in knowledge, and the active participation of the university community in reflecting on this important date.