This study explores and documents the inclusion of American women literary authors in recommended lists that have been used by academic librarians as a main tool for collection development and evaluation. These lists have been the well-known standards used as guides for building a core collection in support of the college curricula. A sample of 40 women authors was selected from "The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women: The Tradition in English," which is considered an important canon in the field of women's studies and women's literature. An additional 60 women authors selected from "American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the Present" were added to the sample. The study documents and evaluates the inclusion of the 100 American women literary authors in Charles B. Shaw's "A List of Books for College Libraries (1930) and its supplement published in 1940. In addition, the study documents and evaluates women's inclusion in the three editions of "Books for College Libraries" (BCL) that were intended to update Shaw's list. The three editions were published in 1967, 1975, and 1988. All are considered highly respected core bibliographies for undergraduate libraries. The timeframe chosen for publication by the American women authors is between 1620 and 1929. This enabled the study to begin by documenting their inclusion in Shaw's list. Results show that there is a tendency to exclude women from the literary canon. The inclusion of women of color was almost nonexistent until BCL3 in 1988. Even though the inclusion of women has increased steadily since the publication of Shaw and its supplement, the adequacy of BCL3 in representing works by American women literary authors is questionable. (Contains 32 references.) (Author/AEF)