February 21, 2025

What If Women’s History Month Was Every Day?

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By Leah Leach, Founder and Executive Director of the Gal’s Guide

March is Women’s History Month, so we asked Leah Leach, founder of the first women’s history lending library in the United States, to tell us about how she started Gal’s Guide and why we should celebrate women’s history and achievements.

“In 2019, I turned to my two best friends and asked, “Is it crazy to start a library?” We all agreed it was crazy, but we decided to do it anyway.

I’m Dr. Leah Leach, and my friends call me Riwo. I am the founder of the first women’s history lending library in the United States. Gal’s Guide Library is a specialty library located in Noblesville, Indiana. Gal’s Guide shares and showcases 6,000+ books written by women and about women. Gal’s Guide has been awarded multiple awards including 2022 Organization of the Year by Advancing Noblesville and a Congressional Recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to the community. Gal’s Guide is the embodiment of Women’s History Month 365 days a year.

Why We Started

In 2013, I was working in the film industry as an independent film producer, director, and writer. I had produced a dozen films at that point and won quite a few awards. I worked on projects for VH1, CMT, Discovery Channel, and the Sci-Fi Channel. In Indiana, I was known as “The Female Filmmaker.” I was asked to give talks at universities and clubs about what it was like to be a female filmmaker. I didn’t assign myself this title; it was put upon me. I did however see that when I gave a presentation more women would attend than usual. We also had some in-depth conversations facing the (then) statistic that less than 5% of film directors were female. After giving talks, I also started to see more local women producing, directing, and writing their own film projects.

So, I started hosting a women’s group. I called it WEB (Women Empowering Balance). The group discussed topics such as What does it mean to be a woman today? What is expected of us? What is this pushback we sometimes receive? How do we navigate being a woman in today’s world?

We learned that if we had female role models in our lives, we got farther, faster. Many of us couldn’t mention 5 women who were in our career field. There was much we learned from women of history that we never met. We found a kind of blueprint of how to navigate career, marriage, parenting, and life from women in the past who had far fewer resources than we do today. We used empathy to find the universal lessons to answer the hard questions and help navigate life’s ups and downs.

As we learned about women of history from different career fields, we wanted to share this beyond the confines of my living room, so I created Gal’s Guide to the Galaxy as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in 2016. The name is a take on the book Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I felt it was important to show that the organization would be quirky and silly at times. I also felt that using the word “guide” showcased that we didn’t have all the answers but we could perhaps guide you to someone or somewhere that has more answers than we did. The word “gal” was used because we didn’t want the organization to just be about girls or just be about women.

Gal’s Guide started with hosting public events and launching a podcast. The first podcast was Your Gal Friday. A student-friendly show about women of history hosted by myself and Phoebe Frear. While Phoebe and I researched women for the podcast, we started to find books about women that were out of print and out of circulation. We realized we were one history podcast and that there were thousands of other podcasts. If we were running up against a lack of information, others were too. If Gal’s Guide could be a resource and show why women’s history is so important to all of us, the world could learn from these amazing women of history.

That’s when I asked, “Is it crazy to start a library?”

How We Started

It took 16 months of research, planning, and meetings before Gal’s Guide Library opened to the public. I did struggle to find a location. There were many moments when I thought all hope was lost. Then, I secured a spot at Noblesville Creates and went viral on social media. After many stressful months, it was a great week to have a home for the library and funds to keep it open.

Gal’s Guide Library opened to the public during Women’s History Month on March 1, 2020, and it was amazing. Our VIP opening night had a double rainbow out front and inside was packed with new patrons. News outlets arrived to showcase the library. We were going to be published in travel magazines…but something else was happening that week. Gal’s Guide Library was open for 11 days before the COVID lockdown of Indiana.

Luckily, we had raised enough money to pay our rent while navigating the pandemic. Our second podcast, The Gal’s Guide Podcast, found thousands of listeners around the world during the lockdown. We added audiobooks of Frankenstein, Kristin Lavransdatter, and Little Women. We shared so many book recommendations, and people generously donated books. As professors retired, they donated their hard-to-find books on first and second-wave feminism. Our collection grew from 1,500 books on opening night to over 6,000 in 2025.

How We Stayed Open

March 2025 marks the 5th Anniversary of Gal’s Guide Library being open to the public. The library is the central core of what we do; books relate to our events, clubs, workshops, and podcast episodes. Most of our offerings are free. Our Galentine’s Brunch is epic! Everyone is welcome at Gal’s Guide. We make history fun. We don’t focus on names and dates. We focus on how we can help people see the beautiful potential within themselves.

Some visitors make a pilgrimage to come to a women’s history lending library. We’ve had visitors from South Dakota, Chicago, California, to just name a few. Some are exploring the studio spaces at Noblesville Creates and find us. Some come for the books. Some come to be around women’s history.

Books don’t judge and neither does Gal’s Guide. Your TBR (To Be Read) pile doesn’t judge how long it takes for you to get to a book. Gal’s Guide encourages people to serendipitously read the right book for you when the right time appears. We’re here to guide you to options of women’s voices who have been lost to the shadows for too long.

Why Women’s History Is Important

I’ve spent more than the last decade focused on women’s history. What I have found among the thousands of people I have talked to and presented to is that women’s history expands the experience of healing. Women’s history is not about domination; it’s about sharing. Sharing with nature, sharing with her body to give birth, sharing trade, sharing knowledge in teaching, sharing invention, and sharing a recipe. When information and resources are shared with you in a compassionate way – not a competitive way – you are more open to the possibilities of incorporating them into your life and into your work.

I commonly say, “If she can see it, she can be it,” but really it’s more If you can see a woman doing it, you are empowered to do it. Women’s history encourages you to share and build upon the adventure of life. Many times, it’s a mother figure who shows us our first actions: how to eat, walk, talk, how to stop crying after a scraped knee, or how to heal a broken heart. (The answer to those last two is ice cream). This is why I think seeing women invent things or leading businesses empowers all of us, because we all came from a mother.

Learn More About Women’s History

I’ll be hosting a fun and interactive women’s history celebration at the Noblesville branch of Hamilton East Public Library on March 25 at 6pm. I hope you come and learn about amazing women of history and how they can help you navigate the ups and downs of life.

You can also come visit me at Gal’s Guide Library located in the Noblesville Creates building at 107 S. 8th Street in Noblesville. We’re open Wednesday – Friday 12pm-5pm and Saturdays at 10am-5pm. The Gal’s Guide Podcast is also available wherever you like to listen to podcasts, including galsguide.org. New episodes every Monday.

Learn more about what we do at Galsguide.org.”

About Leah Leach

Leah Leach Dr. Leah “Riwo” Leach is the Founder and Executive Director of the Gal’s Guide. Riwo is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and podcaster with multiple honorary doctorates. In 2024, Riwo was awarded Artist Leader of the Year by Noblesville Creates. Riwo has adapted her storytelling training into the unique way Gal’s Guide teaches and writes about history.