History

Pioneers Rosa Malmström, Asta Ekenvall and Eva Pinéus collected and organised archival materials of interest to women's history, recorded literature relevant to women's history, and established a publishing series on women's history research. At the time, the initiative was called Kvinnohistoriskt arkiv – the Women’s History Archive.

Kvinnohistoriskt arkiv was originally run as a foundation, which remained active into the 1980s. In 1971, the archive and all acquired materials were incorporated into the Gothenburg University Library when a dedicated position for a librarian at the archive was established. The name was then changed to Kvinnohistoriska samlingarna – the Women’s History Collections.

In 1997, it was appointed Sweden’s national resource library for gender studies, and in 2010 it was renamed KvinnSam. In 2018, KvinnSam was established as a university-wide research infrastructure at the University of Gothenburg.

Both Asta Ekenvall and Rosa Malmström received recognition for their pioneering work in founding and developing KvinnSam. Ekenvall was appointed honorary doctor in 1972, and Malmström received the same honour in 1987. In the 1990s, both were also made honorary professors.