NYPL: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Posted on 20. Jul, 2009 by Leshell Hatley in Places of Scholarly Work, Research, Scholarly Celebrations

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (part of NY Public Libraries)

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a national research library devoted to collecting, preserving and providing access to resources documenting the experiences of peoples of African descent throughout the world. The Center’s collections first won international acclaim in 1926 when the personal collection of the distinguished Puerto Rican-born Black scholar and bibliophile, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, was added to the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints of the 135th Street Branch of The New York Public Library. In the 1930s and 1040s, renowned librarian Augusta Baker pioneered the efforts in what was then the 135th Street Branch of the New York Library to provide access to more African-American children’s books. At the time, there were only 27 books about ‘the American Negro’ suggested for inclusion in all school libraries and only four (4) of them were written for children:

Augusta Baker, Renowned Librarian

1. For Freedom by Arthur Fauset
2. Popo and Fifina by Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes
3. Upward Path by M. T. Pritchards
4. African Myths by Carter G. Woodson

However, Arturo Schomburg and James Weldon Johnson were instrumental in helping Augusta Baker purchase 40 books for the 135th Street Branch library in Harlem, NY. The 3 criteria for evaluation of purchased books were:

1. Language – could not be dialect-laden or include derogatory terms such as darkie
2. Theme – characters could not be presented as “a clown or a buffoon whose only object in life [was] to serve his master faithfully and without question”
3. Illustration [most important] – could not offer insulting caricatures of African-Americans.

These books along with the ultimate donation of Arthur Schomburg’s private collection of literature and artifacts ultimately became the Schomburg Center.

Arturo Alfonso Schomburg

Schomburg served as curator from 1932 until his death in 1938. Renamed in his honor in 1940, the collection grew steadily through the years. In 1972 it was designated as one of The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library and became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Today, the Schomburg Center contains over 10,000,000 items and provides services and programs for constituents from the United States and abroad.

The Center provides access to and professional reference assistance in the use of its collections to the scholarly community and the general public through five research divisions, each managing materials in specific formats but with broad subject focus. The Center’s collections include art objects, audio and video tapes, books, manuscripts, motion picture films, newspapers, periodicals, photographs, prints, recorded music discs and sheet music.

The Schomburg Center facilitates access to these holdings through mail and telephone reference services, participation in national computerized databases and publication of bibliographies and other finding aids.

Library materials at the Schomburg Center are housed in five collection divisions, according to format:

• Art and Artifacts Division
• General Research and Reference Division
• Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
• Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division
• Photographs and Prints Division

The Schomburg Center promotes the study of the histories and cultures of peoples of African descent and interprets its collections through exhibitions, publications and educational, scholarly and cultural programs.

For more information, visit: http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html

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1. Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad: African-American Studies Professor and New Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
2. [RESOURCE] Auburn Ave Research Library on African-American Culture & History
3. Samuel A. Floyd: Black Music Scholar and Founder/Editor of The Black Music Research Journal
4. The Black Scholar: Journal of Black Studies and Research
5. Augusta Baker: Storyteller, Librarian, Authority on Children’s Literature, and Legend

Tags: 135 Street Branch Library, 1926, 1930s, 1940s, African-American Studies, Arturo Schomburg, At Georgia Tech, Augusta Baker, Author, Baltimore, Black Female Music Scholar, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Florida A&M University, Head of the UCLA Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program, NASA, New York Public Library, PhD, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture