About the Library

Welcome to the Reproductive Justice Virtual Library (RJVL) – an online connection to reproductive justice related research and resources. It is our hope that the RJVL will bolster movement building; facilitate more collaboration among advocates and academics who can use the tool to learn about and contact one another; spur more scholarship in the humanities and social sciences; equip policymakers with data needed to make convincing arguments; educate members of the press; and inform the public.

Misinformation and misunderstandings about reproductive justice abound.  People who want to learn about reproductive justice, or deepen their understanding of it, have nowhere to turn for a comprehensive collection of relevant materials generated by individual and institutional thought leaders. They spend precious time searching in a piecemeal fashion, often obtaining an incomplete, and sometimes inaccurate, picture of the field from the first source or two they encounter. We see the repercussions of these lost learning opportunities in polls that demonstrate a general lack of awareness about reproductive justice issues and in the misuse of the terms and concepts by media and public officials. CRRJ has been contacted by various legal scholars and social scientists interested in researching and writing about reproductive justice issues but frustrated by the absence of knowledge repositories in their disciplines.  Likewise, activists and advocates have confirmed that they could often use an easily-accessible collection of resources that elucidate the issues they work on everyday and aid in organizing efforts.

At this phase of the library’s development, we have selected a small number of sources to illuminate the foundations and growing edges of the reproductive justice framework. It is not exhaustive, or even extensive. We intend to expand the library, including additional types of sources, over the course of years from the strong foundation of phase 1. Annotations, written by scholars, students, advocates, and practitioners in various fields, provide brief summaries of the sources and their intended audiences. They are offered to give library users an at-a-glance grasp of a particular source in order to decide whether to download it or flag it for future reading, in addition to direct access to most materials and their authors’ information.

Before launching the library, CRRJ conducted a survey of reproductive justice activists, inquiring about popular sources of information and areas of interest. Survey responses informed the current phase and will shape future phases of the project. We will continue to seek the input of users and ask for guidance from beta testers in the years to come.  In the meantime, feedback is welcome and encouraged through the “Suggestion Box.”

We hope to bolster complementary efforts to educate people about reproductive justice and encourage you to explore our growing list of blogs and bibliographies here.

Thank you for visiting the library.  We hope you’ll return soon and often.

Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice