Books are on open shelves. There are separate manuscript and periodical reading rooms, and facilities for the use of microforms and audio- and videotapes. The building also houses the Radcliffe Archives. The Schlesinger Library sponsors Research grants for those using the library's holdings as funding is available. The Carol K. Pforzheimer Student Fellowships are open to Harvard undergraduates.
Fellows can receive affiliation and office space with some financial support.
Two major events are also scheduled each year for the Culinary Friends. Occasional exhibitions of the work of women artists and photographers, which provide another means of enlarging our understanding of women's lives. Oral history projects are a major part of the library's programs and collections. The Family Planning, Black Women, and Women in the Federal Government transcripts are available for use. Interview series with Latina, Cambodian, and Chinese American women, the Tully-Crenshaw Feminist Oral History Project, which documents the history of NOW, and other projects are planned or in process.