LibGuides: SW 101: Intro to Social Work and Social Welfare: Social Work Pioneers

What Does This Guide Do?

This guide gathers resources on social welfare pioneers. It will assist you in gathering information for your presentation in SW 101: Intro to Social Work and Social Welfare including things like:

Pictures of the pioneer;
Life and personal history, including factors that led to their career in social work/social welfare;
The person’s contributions to social work and social welfare, including any policies that the pioneer initiated or influenced;
The strategies utilized by this person in creating social change;
The important social work values that this person exemplified;

Library Search

Search articles, journals, books, media, and more

Getting to Know Your Topic

Are you looking for information about the context or history of your topic? Try the resources on this page for background and general context as well as biographical information.

Encyclopedia of Social Work
Contains articles which represent a thoroughly updated and expanded look at the entire field of social work. It covers all aspects of social work from practice/interventions, social environments, social conditions and challenges to social policy and history.
The Encyclopedia of Social Work combines scholarly content with practical guidance for social workers. Content is updated monthly and includes over 400 articles plus biographical entries. Articles integrate theory with real-world applications. This resource is essential for social work education, research, and professional practice.
Credo Reference
Helps define your topic and then use the links on topic pages to discover more in-depth information in books and journals, find thousands of art images and connect your ideas using concept mapping.
Credo Reference combines hundreds of authoritative reference works from leading publishers. The platform features topic pages, concept mapping tools, and visual resources. Content is interlinked and regularly updated. This resource serves as an excellent starting point for research across academic disciplines.
Kanopy
A leading distributor of online educational videos across a wide variety of subject areas. Kanopy also provides access to classic Hollywood and foreign films from the Criterion Collection.
Kanopy provides access to thousands of films including documentaries, educational content, and classic cinema. The collection includes content from the Criterion Collection and leading educational producers. Videos support curriculum needs across academic disciplines. This platform serves both classroom instruction and independent learning.

Biographical Reference Sources

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600 - 2000
WASM is useful for students and scholars of U.S women's history and U.S. history in general. It centers around the history of women and social movements in the U.S. between 1600 and 2000. The site brings together books, images, documents, scholarly essays, commentaries and bibliographies that document women’s reform activities.
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600 - 2000 combines primary sources, books, images, and scholarly commentary on women's social movements. Content covers four centuries of women's social activism and reform activities. Materials include organizational records and personal papers. This resource is valuable for research in women's history and social movements.
Gale in Context Biography
Biography in Context uses numerous reference works to provide extensive biographical information. This database features many different search options, that can be searched according to various categories. Entries include full-text articles from hundreds of periodicals and reference sources. Search for subjects based on one or more personal facts or combine criteria to create a highly-targeted custom search.
Gale in Context Biography provides extensive biographical information from numerous reference sources and periodicals. The database allows searching by personal characteristics, historical periods, and professional categories. Content includes full-text articles, images, and primary sources. This resource supports research across multiple disciplines requiring biographical information.

NASW Foundation: Social Work Pioneer Program
The Pioneer Program identifies and recognizes individuals whose unique dedication, commitment and determination have improved social and human conditions.
The History of Social Work
A website that offers an overview and timeline of selected people and events in the development of modern social work.
Social Welfare History Project
A nonprofit project designed with the goal of better informing the public about the history of American social welfare.

Meet Your Librarian

Lena Kilburn

she/hers

Email Me

Contact:

617-521-2659

Subjects: Children's Literature, Social Work

Other Social Work Guides

Social Work
by Lena Kilburn Last Updated Apr 29, 2025 1430 views this year
Social Welfare Policies & Services
by Lena Kilburn Last Updated Apr 29, 2025 277 views this year
Social Work Research
by Lena Kilburn Last Updated Apr 29, 2025 1122 views this year
Community and Environment Assessment (EcoScan)
by Lena Kilburn Last Updated Jan 22, 2025 281 views this year
How to find Statistics and Demographics
by Lena Kilburn Last Updated Mar 5, 2025 52 views this year

(Some) Social Welfare Pioneers

Jane Addams
Mary Richmond
Dorothy Height
Sarah Fernandis
Francis Perkins
Jeannette Rankin
Janie Porter Barrett
Gail Abarbanel
Bertha Capen Reynolds
Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry
W. Gertrude Brown
Diana Ming Chan
Edgar William Pye
Gail Abarbanel
Ida Maud Cannon