The Dutch Women's Thesaurus has been constructed as a professional tool for students, researchers and librarians to describe and locate women's information in the collections of libraries, documentation centres and archives. It is a joint publication of the Anna Maria van Schuurman Centre, Graduate School for advanced women's studies at the University of Utrecht, and of the International Information Centre and Archives of the Women's Movement (IIAV) in Amsterdam.

The Dutch Women's Thesaurus is a standarized list of about 2400 semantically and generically related terms with detailed instructions for use. It can be seen as a reflection of developments within women's movements and women's studies. The Dutch Women's Thesaurus has been used since 1993.
For help or advice on the thesaurus terms to be used, please contact the IIAV: +31 20-6650820 or e-mail: [email protected]
A complete survey of thesaurus terms is only available in book form.
An English translation of the Women's Thesaurus is being prepared.

The Women's Thesaurus comprises seven parts:

• An alphabetical list of 2400 terms giving broader, narrower and related terms and scope notes
• The terms arranged in 20 broad categories or subject groups
• A rotated index, in which all parts of a multiple term are sorted alphabetically, allowing all the combinations in which a term has been used to be seen at glance
• A form code to indicate the type of document
• Geographical codes to facilitate the indexing of documents by geographical area
• Time codes for placing documents in their historical context
• Information on a number of possible occupations and positions, included in an appendix of 17 occupational groups

List of the 20 subject groups:

• general terms
• anthropology
• science and technology
• built environment
• economics, labour
• philosophy
• history
• health care, medicine
• visual and performing arts
• lifestyles, parenthood
• literature, linguistics
• media
• education, training
• politics, policy
• psychology
• law
• recreation
• religion
• social conditions-relations
• women's studies as a discipline

For questions or more information please contact: [email protected]