Resources
These pages contain further resources for study: notably, the websites of related organizations and a bibliography. There has been very little scholarly work completed on women’s institutes in Alberta or anywhere else in the world, which is remarkable considering the relative size of these organizations and their century-long contribution to women’s history.
In Alberta, the largest single collection of AWI material, rural histories, and weekly newspapers resides in the Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA). The holdings in the AWI office in Wetaskiwin are significant but un-organized, and the organization uses the PAA for official deposit. This means that records are regularly bundled up and sent to Edmonton. The PAA contains government records as well, although there are large gaps in the early records due to the purposeful destruction of public records by the out-going United Farmer’s party between the wars. The Legislative Assembly Library in Edmonton is a good place to look at government records and also holds physical collections of weekly newspapers.
There is an interesting collection of Home Economics records at the Glenbow. However, in total, the largest number of AWI records has been deposited individually with regional archives and museums across the province. Many of these facilities are operated by volunteers and only open seasonally; some of these buildings are un-heated. The bulk of AWI records can therefore be considered at risk for deterioration.