The centennial of women winning the right to vote in New York state prompted RPL & partners to plan a series of events identifying and interpreting historical material relating to this topic. RPL was challenged to bring together competing cultural institutions and persuade them to share their historical collections. The 2016 presidential election provided the platform needed to convince all partners that we are stronger together than apart, resulting in unprecedented sharing of collections among the partners.

RPL emerged as the steward of women’s rights and voting on Election Day 2016 when 10k+ people visited Susan B. Anthony’s gravesite in Rochester’s Mt. Hope Cemetery. RPL recorded the event, and gathered the artifacts left at the gravesite, now part of the "Because of Women Like Her" exhibits & programs. Other events include a “Vote-tilla” of boats sailing from Seneca Falls to Rochester teaching about woman suffrage along the way, ending at the library.

The partnerships secured for this year-long series of events are unprecedented in our region. We have forged new relationships with cultural institutions and higher education and used those to deliver quality educational programs to the community on what it means to vote, for women and for others who are disenfranchised. The Central Library has become the center of these events, introducing the library to many people for the first time.