Rosa Malmström facts for kids
Rosa Astrid Tyra Malmström (1906–1995) was a Swedish teacher and librarian who cared deeply about women's rights. She is best known for her work at the Gothenburg University Library, where she focused on collecting books and writings by women. Rosa noticed that books by women were not always treated the same as books by men in libraries.
To help fix this, in 1958, she helped start a special group called Kvinnohistorisk Arkiv. She did this with Asta Ekenvall, who studied literature, and Eva Pineus, a women's rights activist. This group was dedicated to studying women's history and writings. Later, it became known as KvinnSam, a big collection of women's historical materials. Her important work was recognized when she was made an honorary professor in 1987 and a full professor in 1994.
Her Early Life
Rosa Malmström was born in a place called Regna, in Östergötland, Sweden, on July 10, 1906. Her father was Axel Malmström.
After finishing school in Vänersborg in 1928, she went to Gothenburg College. There, she earned a master's degree and became a qualified teacher.
Her Career
Rosa first worked as a teacher at a private school in Stockholm. But then, she decided to try something new. She looked for a job at Gothenburg's main library, which later became the university library.
After a trial period, she got a permanent job there. She worked at the library until she retired in 1971.
Helping Women's Literature
Rosa realized that books written by women were not bought as often as books by men. She also saw that the library's system for organizing books didn't treat women's works fairly. Because of this, she became very interested in finding and researching literature about women.
She started to create her own list of Swedish women writers. This was an alternative to the usual Svensk historisk bibliografi (Swedish Historical Bibliography). In 1958, she published a list of books about women clergy in Sweden, called Kvinnliga präster: bibliografi över i Sverige tryckt litteratur.
Rosa worked with Asta Ekenvall, who also found it hard to find books by women. Together, they started researching women's literature. In 1958, with Eva Pineus, they created the Kvinnohistoriskt Arkiv foundation. This group was all about studying women's history.
More and more people saw how important this work was. Several women's groups asked the government for support. As a result, a special library job was created. The foundation then moved its collection to Gothenburg University. There, they had the space to grow the collection of women's literature, which became Kvinnohistoriska Samlingarna, now known as KvinnSam.
Rosa Malmström passed away in Gothenburg in 1995. She is buried in the city's Norra Cemetery.
Awards and Recognition
Rosa Malmström made a very important contribution to researching people's lives in Nordic countries. Gothenburg University recognized her work in 1987. They gave her the title of honorary professor.
In 1994, the Swedish government also honored her. They promoted her to a full professor.
