Rebecca Ortenberg
As part of Penn Libraries’ Strategic Communications team, Rebecca is editor and lead writer for the Penn Libraries News blog, and she leads content-sourcing, creation, planning, monitoring, and daily posting to the Libraries' institutional social media channels.
Before coming to the Penn Libraries, she worked at the Science History Institute, where she held the role of social media editor and served as project manager for digital public humanities projects. Previously she conducted research and presented programs at historic sites in Oregon, New York, and Delaware. She is also the managing editor of Lady Science, a magazine and podcast about the history and popular culture of science.
Rebecca received an M.A. in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program (SUNY Oneona) and a B.A. in history from Lewis and Clark College.
This March marks the 35th Women’s History Month commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. The Penn Libraries’ collections include rich holdings that document the stories of women in the United States; for example, we’re proud to be the main repository for the papers of singer and activist Marian Anderson and the home of the Caroline F. Schimmel Fiction Collection of Women in the American Wilderness.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, our librarians put together a selection of books, films, and audio recordings available through the Penn Libraries.
Print and E-Books
- Ladysitting: My Year with Nana at the End of Her Century by Lorene Cary
Lorene Cary reflects on time she spent with her grandmother and describes her grandmother’s experiences growing up in the Jim Crow South, her activism, and her career. - Average Family by Larissa Fasthorse
Written by a 2020 MacArthur Fellow, this funny and heartwarming play tells the story of a Native American family competing in a frontier-themed reality show. - Nothing like a dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater by Eddie Shapiro
Eddie Shapiro interviews leading ladies of musical theater, including Carol Channing, Audra MacDonald, Idina Menzel, and Sutton Foster. - The Chicana M(other)work Anthology, edited by Cecilia Caballero, Yvette Martinez-Vu, Judith Perez-Torres, et al.
The editors of this collection interlace testimonios with research to challenge institutions that oppress Chicana and other women of color scholars. - Women Performing Music: the Emergence of American Women as Classical Instrumentalists and Conductors by Beth Abelson Macleod
In a series of profiles, women instrumentalists and conductors reflect on their success in what has traditionally been a male-dominated field. - Hopeful Monsters: Stories by Hiromi Goto
This collection of quirky stories is populated by women whose nightmares mingle with the myths of everyday life. - Menopause: A Comic Treatment, edited by MK Czerwiec
A hilariously uncensored collection of menopause experiences from leading female cartoonists. - Florence! Foster!! Jenkins!!!: the Life of the World’s Worst Opera Singer by Darryl W. Bullock
Learn the story of the real-life New York socialite who achieved great fame as the world’s worst opera singer!
Video
- My Tehran for sale, Granaz Moussavi, director
In a drama that was furtively filmed in Iran, a struggling woman artist and her friends take risks to create art and enjoy life on the fringes of a repressive society. - A League of Their Own, Penny Marshall, director
This star-studded 90's hit explores the origin of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, telling the story of the women who stepped up to bat while the men were away at war.
Audio
- WHAT IF I AM A WOMAN?, Vol. 2 - Black Women's Speeches. Speeches by Ida Wells-Barnett, Fannie Lee Chaney, Shirley Chisholm, Coretta Scott King, and Angela Davis; read by Ruby Dee
A selection of forceful speeches by groundbreaking Black women decrying racism, segregation and violence against Black bodies. - Different therefore equal: contemporary women's songs, Peggy Seeger
Peggy Seeger regales us with her folk songs about gender equality, including "Different therefore equal" and "I'm gonna be an engineer."
In celebration of Women’s History Month, our librarians put together a selection of books, films, and audio recordings available through the Penn Libraries.