An Pounds 8.5 million National Library of Women is being planned with the support of influential women led by Barbara Follett, MP.
The new library will house the collection of the Fawcett Library, the world's oldest and most comprehensive women's library.
Currently housed in a cramped basement in East London, the Fawcett Library, part of London Guildhall University, has more than 60,000 books and pamphlets dating back to 1600.