We are happy to announce a new addition to our collections: the Sisterspirit Records!
Sisterspirit Bookstore was founded in 1984 by four women who originally met at San Jose State – Mary Jeffrey, Marilyn Cook, Karen Hester, and Amy Caffrey with the goal of creating a feminist bookstore and coffeehouse where women could socialize and enjoy live music. The group’s mission statement was: “To promote women’s culture and community in the South Bay Area, to help unify and strengthen the South Bay women’s community and provide a multicultural information center to enable networking with other women’s groups and communities. To develop and promote educational projects responsive to human, civil, and women’s rights. To teach and promote women’s culture by providing a meeting place for all women, by providing space and support for local women’s artistic works, by providing information on women’s history, women’s music, women’s literature, etc. by providing a women’s bookstore and coffeehouse. To work in solidarity with other women’s organizations on projects and events which support women’s issues and culture.” By 1985, Sisterspirit became a fully-fledged non-profit organization, selling books and records by mail.
In 1986, Sisterspirit joined with the Billy DeFrank Center and opened a physical bookstore, in which they held regular coffeehouses with live music or author book-signings. Sisterspirit also sold books for students at San Jose State University. Most importantly, Sisterspirit became a space for women and LGBTQ+ people in San Jose, one of the very few feminist bookstores in the South Bay. At Sisterspirit's height, the bookstore was open seven days a week, with over 5,000 titles, along with 40 regular volunteers.
However, by the early 2000s, Sisterspirit had lost much of their support. With an on-going recession and the South Bay rapidly becoming more expensive, it became harder to get volunteers and to keep their space at the Billy DeFrank Center. Moreover, many of the books that were once exclusive to Sisterspirit could be bought online or at chain bookstores. By August 2010, Sisterspirit closed, selling off the last of their materials and donating the money to Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. Sisterspirit was the only bookstore in the United States to be run for over two decades by an all volunteer staff.
This collection consists of 11 boxes of administrative/business records, photographs, book-signing and performance material, book-selling information, meeting minutes, financial records, and framed materials. Also includes posters, broadsides,stickers, buttons, and other realia.
Post written by Special Collections & Archives Student Assistant Elena Castaneda, who was also responsible for processing the Sisterspirit Records.
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