JESSIE CARNEY SMITH

Special Collections of Black Literature in the Traditionally Black College

A study of collections of black literature in black colleges and uni­ versities, including discussions of eight principal collections in these institutions and one major collection in a public library; the organiza­ tion, administration, and personnel for such collections; kinds of ma­ terials collected; programs and services furnished by them; and finan­ cial provisions made for their development.

As WE VIEW IT TODAY, black librarian­ McGrath concluded that these colleges ship, like black education, is between as a group "lack their share of distinc- · two worlds. The full entrance of black tive or exceptional libraries."1 This con­ librarianship into the mainstream of li­ clusion may he challenged when critical brarianship in general is yet to be insight is given to the primary and sec­ achieved, and it continues to lie in the ondary resource materials collected by outer realm of those institutions which some of these libraries. Almost immedi­ were created to serve a purely segregated ately, the incompleteness of scholarship society. The high mechanization, mas­ is clearly visible as the untapped sources sive collections, and generous budgets of black studies materials are identified that characterize many of the prestig­ in the black libraries. While, as a whole, ious libraries in America are unknown these libraries may be indistinctive and to black libraries. Black institutions and unexceptional, elements of some of their libraries were born and survived them are both distinctive and exception- against great odds: those imposed by the aJ.' society in which these libraries were cre­ Libraries in the black institutions ated, and those imposed as the result of have been neither self-sufficient nor chronic underfinancing. self-contained. Despite the fact that In his study of the predominantly Ne­ there are unique elements among them, gro colleges and universities, Earl J. the development of these libraries and their collections in black studies materi­ als gives evidence of their potential for Mrs. Smith is university librarian, Fisk contributing to the development of University, Nashville, Tennessee. This ar­ ticle is based on a chapter of the volume scholarship. The depth that these collec­ Black Academic Libraries and Research tions have achieved may be directly at­ Collections, scheduled for publication by tributed to the foresight of early li­ the Scarecrow Press. This project was sup­ brarians, or sometimes faculty persons, ported by a grant from the Council on Li­ who were endowed with the determina­ brary Resources. tion, dedication, and interest necessary 322 I Special Collections of Black Literature I 323 to preserve black history and culture in found in black colleges and universities records. tend to be limited to subjects on blacks, HISTORICAL BACKGROUND or subjects that are black-related. For ex­ ample, it would not be impossible to Patterns in the development of spe­ find in the black institutions papers of cial collections of black literature in the an organization or of a leader that re­ traditionally black colleges vary. In lated in some way to the black man's some cases, materials on this subject struggles. were in the collection which was estab­ Throughout the years, libraries in the lished when the college was founded, black colleges have included materials while in other cases it was through the on black subjects in their collections as generosity of benefactors, either in they were required to meet the needs of gifts of funds or of materials, that curricular programs in black history or their collections were established. As black literature. It may be said that may be seen in the history of black li­ black studies have their founding in the braries in general, full histories of the curricular programs offered early in the development of these collections are black colleges. Not infrequently these lacking. Through bits and pieces given few courses were offered as a require­ in some of their records, however, a ment for all students. For the most part, sketch history can be given. materials supporting these courses were Special collections of black cultur.e added to the general collection. An ex­ may be found in various types of h­ amination of collections in many of braries throughout the United States. these institutions for the purpose of a One group of these comprises the black survey of libraries and research collec­ institutions-libraries in black colleges tions in the traditionally black colleges and universities, black branches of pub­ which this writer conducted revealed lic libraries, special black research cen­ that first editions of important works ters, black museums, and black associa­ long since out of print were located on tions and organizations. Other groups the open shelves, attesting to the fact include college libraries in the predomi­ that librarians or faculties in these insti­ nantly white institutions; university li­ tutions had an early interest in gather- braries; private or university-related re­ ing black materials. . search libraries; larger public libraries; Collection practices also resulted m state libraries; libraries of associations the purchase of black newspapers and and learned societies (including groups periodicals. The National Survey of that have religious affiliations); histori­ Higher Education of Negroes reported cal societies of states, cities, and coun­ in 1942 that ties; museums; and governmental li­ braries (including the National Ar­ In their holdings of Negro periodicals chives, presidential libraries, and the Li­ and newspapers ... the collections of brary of Congress ) . the Negro institutions are more sub­ Libraries in various types of black in­ stantial [than their holdings in other stitutions, whether public or private, newspaper and periodical titles]. academic, political, or social, provide Twenty-five colleges were checked for rich and valuable collections of manu­ their holdings of 5 Negro periodicals: The Crisis, Journal of Negro Educa­ script and archival materials for re­ tion, Journal of Negro History, Op­ search in black culture. Unlike the spe­ portunity, and Quarterly Review of cial collections that are found in the Higher Education Among Negroes. predominantly white colleges and uni­ With but two exceptions they hold all versities, special collections that are or all but one of the 5 Negro periodi- 324 I College & Research Libraries • September 1974

cals mentioned. These same institu­ ticipants of the Harlem Renaissance (a tions were asked also to report on literary and cultural movement among their holdings of Negro newspapers. black people, centered in Harlem ) , such The returns to the questionnaire show as Langston Hughes, Rose McClendon, that their holdings of Negro news­ Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen. papers are fairly strong.2 l The Harold Jackman Memorial Com­ Libraries in eight of the traditionally mittee continues the efforts of Jackman black colleges examined for this survey by presenting additions to the collection maintain exceptionally rich resources in periodically. 3 j black studies. These are Atlanta Univer­ The Thayer Lincoln Collection was sity, Dillard University, Fisk University, opened in the Atlanta library in 1953. Hampton Institute, Texas Southern Items there form perhaps the most im­ University, Lincoln University (Penn­ portant collection on "The Great Eman­ sylvania), Tuskegee Institute, and How­ cipator" that is located in the South. ard University. While only seven of The collection was a gift of Mrs. Anna these libraries participated in the survey, Chrittendon Thayer of New York, who the eighth, Howard University, is being maintained a lifetime interest in Lin­ reported because of its significance to coln. the purpose of the survey. Each of the Recent additions to the collections are eight libraries was visited in connection the papers of Irwin McDuffie, Clark with the project, and their collections Foreman, the Chocotoquah Circle, and of black materials were examined in as C. Eric Lincoln, who has written on the much detail as possible. Black Muslims in America and who Atlanta University served on the Atlanta faculty. At Atlanta University, the history of Dillard University the Negro collection as a separate de­ In 1969, when the Amistad Research partment dates back to 1946, when the Center moved from Fisk to Dillard, it university purchased the famous Hen­ took an unusual collection of research ry P. Slaughter Collection. Represented items to a campus where few materials in this collection were matedals by and of that nature had been maintained. Al­ about the black man from many coun­ though not properly a part of the Dil­ tries. In 1932 Anson Phelps presented lard· library or of the university, it may to the Trevor Arnett Library at Atlanta be counted among the collections on the University a collection of papers of black campuses. The American Mission­ Thomas Clarkson, English abolitionist, ary Association Archives, which form who lived between 1760 and 1846. the major portion of the collection, The larger Negro Collection also con­ were formerly at Fisk University, where tains a Countee Cullen Memorial Col­ they were deposited in 1947. lection of black materials, founded at Other materials in the Amistad Cen­ the university in 1942 by Harold Jack­ ter include the Countee Cullen Collec­ man, a friend of the late Countee Cul­ tion, the American Hon:te Missionary So­ len. The founder moved in artistically ciety Archives, the Mary McLeod Beth­ creative circles in America and in Eu­ une Papers, the Marguerite D. Cart­ rope and was .associated with the bril­ wright Papers, and Archives of the Race liance of the Harlem Renaissance dur­ Relations Department of the United ing the 1920s and 1930s. An authority Church Board for Homeland Minis­ on arts and letters, he was also consist­ tries. ently devoted to the major artistic move­ ments in Harlem and in Greater New Fisk University York. He met some of the notable par- One of the oldest, most exhaustive, Special Collections of Black Literature I 325 and most distinguished collections pf augmented by periodic gifts and pur­ black studies materials is housed in the chases. The E. R. Alexander Collection, Fisk University library. The history of founded at Fisk in 1945, is an example the institution indicates that, when it of this. Established by Mrs. Alexander was founded in 1866, there were some in honor of her husband, the intention materials about the black man in the li­ was to provide for Fisk the opportunity brary which was already established at of acquiring items that might be too that time. When a new building was costly for the university to purchase erected in 1908 to serve as a library and otherwise. Of particular importance for other purposes, provisions were among the materials there were the made in it to house special black materi­ more than 200 published minstrel als. sketches. Fisk made its first systematic effort to A small, yet valuable, group of manu­ assemble materials by and about the scripts, photographs, programs, sheet black people in 1929-30, when it made music, and other items was presented to special provision for housing these Fisk in 1948, forming the Scott Joplin items in a separate collection as a part Collection. The Langston Hughes Col­ of the library's resources. Foreign deal­ lection, presented to Fisk in the 1940s ers were consulted in an effort to obtain by the author himself, also helped to materials. Some of the outstanding pur­ enrich the history and resources of the chases of the day included manuscripts library. Upon the author's death in which dealt with the early history of the 1967, and under terms specified in his black domestic servant in Europe. will, a large collection of tape and disc Arthur A. Schomburg, a Puerto Rican recordings was added to the existing of African descent, was appointed Langston Hughes Collection. curator of the collection in 1929. Later The Charles Waddell Chesnutt Col­ associated with the Schomburg Collec­ lection, acquired by Fisk in 1952, in­ tion of the New York Public Library as cludes important research materials re­ curator, Schomburg provided the impe­ lating to this popular figure. tus for maintaining a col~ection which In 1962 Mrs. Jean Toomer presented was similar to his own distinguished to the Fisk library the papers of her one. In 1936 the Fisk library received its husband, one of the most significant first big boost, both in financial support writers of the Harlem Renaissance. An and in materials acquired. In that year additional group of papers was added Fisk purchased the entire library of the in 1967, after the death of Jean Southern YMCA College located in Toomer. Nashville, Tennessee. The YMCA Col­ Among other groups of materials lege library existed under the direction which the Fisk library acquired were the of W. D. Weatherford, who was a local papers of Charles Spurgeon Johnson in pioneer in collecting materials in the 1967, the Julius Rosenwald Fund Ar­ field of race problems. The YMCA li­ chives ill 1948, and a considerable num­ brary specialized in securing materials ber of items of W. E. B. DuBois in relating to the black man since 1865. As 1961. the YMCA collection merged with the Although not dealing exclusively with Fisk collection, which specialized in black subjects, the George Gershwin Me­ black materials prior to 1865, an out­ morial Collection of Music and Musical .standing group of research materials Literature is a valuable source of mate­ was formed. rials relating to the black man. The col­ The Fisk collection has been greatly lection was presented to Fisk in 1944 by 326 1 College & Research Libraries • September 1974

Carl Van Vechten, in honor of his close lection include transcripts of interviews friend. with former slaves in Virginia. An unusual part of the Fisk collec­ Hampton's early emphasis on educa­ tion is a group of paintings which form tion for black as well as Indian students the Baldridge Collection. These sketch­ is represented in the archives. Letters to es were presented to the library in 1931 Indians and materials on the Indian by Samuel Insull of Chicago. Rights Association are included. More recent additions to the Fisk col­ Beginning in 1970, rigorous efforts lection include a group of 1,334 notable were made to expand and to update sub­ titles on the black man in Africa and stantially the collection of black titles. America, the Goodman-Schwemer-Che­ The Hampton collection is perhaps the ney Collection of black books for chil­ foremost untapped source for research dren, and smaller manuscript collections in black studies. Unlike libraries at such as those of Naomi Long Madgett, Howard, Fisk, and Tuskegee, the Hamp­ Slater King, John W. Work, Louise ton collection has been overlooked by j Meriwether, William Lloyd Imes, and scholars who write on black subjects. Robert Burgette Johnson, son of Charles Spurgeon Johnson. Howard University In 1914 the Moorland Foundation, Hampton Institute the Library of Negro Life and History, The Hampton collection was estab­ was established by the board of trustees lished in 1905, when George Foster Pea­ of Howard University. At that time one body purchased 1,400 books, pamphlets, of the trustees, Jesse E. Moorland, gave and other documents from Tucker A. the university his private library of Malone and loaned them to the library. more than 3,000 items relating to black The loan was changed to a gift in 1908. subjects, many of which were engrav­ In 1914 the private collection of Phil ings, portraits,. manuscripts, curios, pic­ B. Brooks of Washington, D.C., was tures, and clippings. Through a combi­ purchased. This collection of 10,000 nation of the Moorland materials and books, pamphlets, and documents dealt those of Lewis Tappan, which had been with slavery and reconstruction in the donated to the library in 1873, one of United States. Included were original the most valuable collections on anti­ bills of slaves and inventories of slaves slavery literature was formed. on plantations. Through the years numerous collec­ Among the archival materials in the tions have gravitated to the Moorland collection, some of which date back to Foundation and have thus made possi­ ble a constantly growing collection of 1868, are items on the pr,oceedings of great significance. the Lake Mohonk Negro Conference; The Moorland Foundation is not un­ slavery documents; records and corre­ like the notable black collections assem­ spondence relating to the American bled in such black institutions as Hamp­ Missionary Association and Hampton ton, Tuskegee, and Fisk in the manner Negro Conference; 3,000 photographs in which it developed during the years. of persons and events in the history of Although the Moorland Foundation was the institute; and papers relating to built around two private libraries, the Hollis Burke Frissell, Samuel C. Arm­ distinguishing feature of its develop­ strong, Booker T. Washington, Alexan- ment has been in its relationship to the . der Crummell, Frederick Douglass, curriculum. Its focus and expansion James Weldon Johnson, and Mary Mc­ were basically conditioned by courses Leod Bethune. Other items in the col- which Howard offered in black life a11d Special Collections of Black Literature I 321

culture as well as by its traditional numerous periodicals, pamphlets, and courses which also included a study of other items. Books on Mrica, which are black subjects. included, emphasize the area south of At the time of this investigation, the the Sahara. collection contained over 100,000 cata­ University archives, dating back to loged and indexed volumes. Some of 1845, have been collected. In addition, the manuscript material,s in the collec­ the library contains the minutes of the tion include papers of Blanche Kelso Pennsylvania Colonization Society, cov­ Bruce, Thomas Clarkson, Frederick ering the period 1838-1913. Of particu­ Douglass, E. Franklin Frazier, the Grim­ lar importance is the Langston Hughes ke family, Oliver Otis Howard, Alain Collection, which contains the personal Leroy Locke, Kelly Miller, the Washing­ library and certain literary effects of ton, D.C., branch of the NAACP, P. B. S. this noted Harlem Renaissance writer. Pinchback, Rosey Pool, Joel E. Spingarn, Special gifts which the library has re­ Arthur E. Spingarn, Mary Church Ter­ ceived in recent years include the Lang­ rell, U.S. Colored Troops, Booker T. ston Hughes Collection of 3,000 items; Washington, and Daniel Hale Williams. the Reid Collection, which consists of Texas Southern University 500 books on Africa, the Negro, and so­ ciology; and the Scott Collection, which The Heartman Negro Collection of consists of 375 general titles on black Texas Southern University was pur­ subjects. In 1968-69 the Negro Collec­ chased in 1948 from Charles Frederick tion was greatly augmented through the Heartman, a book dealer and author, purchase of the entire holdings of a lo­ who spent from forty to fifty years cal bookstore. gathering the materials for his private collection. Most of the collection was Tuskegee lnst#ute developed near Biloxi, Mississippi. For The Tuskegee Institute collections many years the Heartman Collection were established in the early 1900s by had a historical emphasis, while in recent bringing together materials of the older years the entire emphasis of the collec­ Department of Records and Research tion of black literature has centered on at Tuskegee, which was begun by Mon­ more contemporary items. roe Nathan Work and continued by Jes­ The private collection of another in­ sie Guzman. In more recent times, addi­ dividual, whose identity has not been tional items in different collections have determined, also helped form the basis been assembled and acquired by the for the development of the black collec­ present archivist, including materials on tion at Texas Southern. Together these the history of the poll tax in the South. two collections helped form perhaps the Schomburg Collection largest and most important collection of this type in the southwestern part Although not associated with a black of the United States. The library also college, the Schomburg Collection of houses the university's archives, which the New York Public Library (the 135th date from the founding of Texas Street Branch) should be recorded Southern in 1947. among the significant collections of black materials available for research. Lincoln University The collection is considered one of the While the exact ongm of the Negro most important centers in the world for Collection at Lincoln University (Penn­ research and study in black culture. sylvania) is unknown, the collection was The Schomburg Collection has three established between 1935 and 1940. histories, each playing a central part in Holdings include over 6,000 volumes, its development. In the infancy of the 328 I College & Research Libraries • September 1974 I

New York Public Library itself, some 1932 through a financial gift from the ~ I interest was shown in collecting black Carnegie Corporation. materials. Materials relating to the The Schomburg Collection, the title I American Colonization Society and by which the 135th Street Branch is • items on slavery were collected by the commonly known, now represents a ref­ library in this early period. erence and research library which pro­ The Harlem community, in which the vides various types of manuscript and Schomburg Collection is located, is archival items relating to black author­ equally significant in its history. In 1905 ship, history and historical works, photo­ the 135th Street Branch of the New graphs, broadsides, and other materials. York Public Library was established to Papers of such notable black persons as serve a neighborhood of afHuent Ameri­ Ira Aldridge, William Stanley Braith­ can Jewish people. An influx of black waite, Alexander Crummell,. Countee people changed the ethnic composition Cullen, Jupiter Hammon, Langston of the community, so that by 1920, it Hughes, Alain Leroy Locke, Rose was half-black. Ernestine Rose was ap­ McClendon, Claude McKay, Hiram pointed librarian an~ charged with the Rhoades Revels, Arthur A. Schomburg, responsibility of adapting the collection Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washing­ to serve an altered public. ton, and Richard Wright are included By 1924 the Harlem Renaissance, a in the collection. cultural revolution in which black writ­ During the years black collections in ers, musicians, artists, and scholars were such libraries as the 135th Street Branch beginning to express their talents, was of the New York Public, Howard, Fisk, in bloom. The Renaissance leaders and Yale, UCLA, and others have felt the their works attracted talent and leader­ influence of such persons as Arthur A. ship from black people all over the Schomburg, Carl Van Vechten, Lang­ United States and the Caribbean, and ston Hughes, and Arthur Spingarn, ei­ they joined the 150,000 black persons ther through materials which they pre­ who had migrated to Harlem by 1924. sented to these libraries to enrich their Harlem was thus the acknowledged cap­ collections or through the purchase of ital of black America. collections which they had assembled. The rigorous efforts of Ernestine Such persons have therefore had a Rose and such leaders as Arthur A. marked effect on the development of Schomburg, Louise Latimer, J. E. Bruce, notable collections of black literature. James Weldon Johnson, John B. Nail, In addition to their focus on black and others culminated in the founding materials, the common element in the of the new Division of Negro Litera­ history of black libraries just described, ture, History, and Prints on May 8, including the Schomburg Collection, is 1925, at the 135th Street Branch. the lack of proper financial support, In 1926 the Carnegie Corporation of staff, and quarters for processing and New York purchased the private library preserving the rich materials and for of Arthur A. Schomburg and presented making them more readily available to it to the 135th Street Branch. This ac­ scholars. While they have relied heavily quisition of between 5,000 and 6,000 upon gifts of notable materials to help volumes, 3,000 manuscripts, 2,000 etch­ build the collections, these libraries have ings, and thousands of pamphlets been handicapped by lack of financial formed the nucleus of the materials in support required to maintain the collec­ the Division of Negro Literature, His­ tions. At the other extreme are the re­ tory, and Prints. Schomburg was re­ wards that these collections can bring tained as curator of the collection in to scholars by the mere fact that they Special Collections of Black Literature I 329

have survived in spite of undue hard­ signed to the collections held at least a ships:' bachelor's degree. Thirteen libraries indicated that staff ADMINISTRATION, ORGANIZATION, persons serving these collections contin­ AND PERSONNEL ued their professional development A study of the administrative organi­ through attendance at in-service meet­ zation of black libraries housing materi­ ings, workshops, and conferences of als in black studies indicates that twen­ professional organizations. These in­ ty-seven, or 41.5 percent, of sixty-five li­ cluded annual meetings of the Associa­ braries reporting have established sep­ tion for the Study of Negro Life and arate collections of black studies materi­ History (now the Association for the als, or special collections. Thirty, or 46.1 Study of Afro-American Life and His­ percent of the total, reported that black tory); an institute in the Selection, Or­ materials in their libraries were distrib­ ganization, and Use of Materials by and uted among items in the general collec­ about Negroes, held at Fisk University; tion. Eight libraries failed to return conferences on the administration of this portion of the questionnaire which archives; a conference on Materials by was used to gather data. and about American Negroes, held at Patterns in administration of the spe­ Atlanta University; institutes on archi­ cial collections of black materials vary. val preservation; an institute on Biblio­ Five of the libraries reported that their graphic Sources for a Study of the Ne­ special collections departments were ad­ gro, held at Howard University; and ministered by a full-time librarian short-term conferences and institutes on whose primary responsibility lay in that more local levels. Seven libraries report­ area. Seven reported that the collections ed that their staffs had received addi­ were administered by a librarian with tional formal education beyond their shared responsibility, devoting a part of last degree. his or her services to directing activities Conferences with staff persons indi­ in special collections. The remaining col­ cated that each of the twenty-seven li­ lections were directly supervised by the braries housing separate and special col­ head librarian. lections of black literature is seriously Reporting on the assignment .- of staff understaffed in these areas. Such li­ members to special collection depart­ braries as Atlanta, Fisk, and Tuskegee, ments, findings show that thirteen li­ which are used heavily by researchers braries followed this plan, with five re­ from various parts of the country, are porting that their services to the collec­ especially burdened. They are required tion were full time. One of these as­ to serve increasing needs of students signed two professionals to the collec­ and faculty as well as to lend research tion on a full-time basis. Ten libraries assistance, each demanding more time employed semiprofessional staff mem­ than present staffs can provide. Other bers in the collection, with two libraries libraries such as Hampton, Lincoln reporting that their services wer(1. full (Pennsylvania), and Florida A&M, time in the collection. The number of which are anxious to broaden their ser­ hours of student assistance for the col­ vices, are handicapped in their activities lections was generally unavailable. because of staffing inadequacies. In each instance in which the collec­ It would appear that the staff persons tion was administered separately by per­ serving these collections, although limit­ sons other than the head librarian, such ed in number, are well-trained and con­ persons held the master's degree. Sub­ tinue their education through work­ professional and clerical persons as- shops, institutes, and other activities. To 330 I College & Research Libraries • September 1974

overcome their difficulties, however, all preserved either through microfilming of the libraries that have plans to im­ or by storing them in acid-free folders prove their services will be required to and in manuscript boxes. Equally large increase their staffs. In reporting the amounts of materials were unprocessed staff needs for the five-year period be­ and, consequently, unavailable for use. · ginning July 1, 1969, and ending June In addition, some of these materials 30, 197 4, eighteen libraries indicated were collected years ago but were un­ that they require an additional seventy processed because funds were unavail­ persons, with most of these needs in able to provide staff of sufficient num­ professional positions. Only three li­ ber and expertise to handle them. braries indicated that they need to add Analysis of the scope and content of archivists to their staffs. materials on black subjects housed in Written policies governing the admin­ the traditionally black college libraries istration and use of these collections revealed that for the most part, and were available in nine libraries, with the with the exception of the few research remaining fifty-six reporting that no collections, increasing amounts of ma­ J such policies were prepared. terials were gathered to support the epi­ demic of black studies programs. Archi­ PROFILES OF THE COLLECTIONS val materials that were in many of these If maximum benefits are to be reaped collections had been housed earlier in from special collections of black mate­ administrative offices and recently added rials, the collections must be organized to the library. and indexed in an appropriate manner. Thirty-five of the institutions report­ Where book collections are concerned, ed curricular programs in black studies, this necessarily means that an accepted with degrees given in four and a minor scheme of classification must be adopt­ offered in three. Fourteen offered pro­ ed. In terms of classification schemes grams in African Studies, with degrees used, findings show that eleven of the offered in two institutions and a minor twenty-seven libraries who have separate offered also in two institutions. These collections of black materials used the new emphases, or a re-emphasis on black Dewey Decimal Classification for pro­ subjects already offered in these institu­ cessing materials in special collections. tions over the years, stress the need for Three libraries reported that they used developing strong collections of black the Library of Congress Classification, materials to support the programs. while ten reported that they used both In general, the scope of the collec­ LC and DDC. Three libraries had no tions in black studies in the historiQally substantial cataloging arrearages in black college libraries is geared to the monographic works. curricular program. Several of these li­ Visits to the libraries showed that, braries, most of them privately support­ where archival materials were con­ ed, have gathered other valuable re­ cerned, the processing of such materials search items along with their collections was incomplete. For the most pait, these of books and periodicals. Such collec­ materials had been collected and were tions, therefore, serve curricular as well housed either in the library building or as research requirements in black stud­ elsewhere on campus. Little had been ies. done to index them. Collections at Descriptions of the larger, richer col­ Hampton, Howard, Fisk, Lincoln (Penn­ lections (particularly manuscript mate­ sylvania), and Tuskegee, which includ­ rials), such as those at Hampton, Atlan­ ed vast amounts of original research ta, Fisk, Lincoln (Pennsylvania), and materials, were partially indexed and Tuskegee, have been presented in vari- Special Collections of Black Literature I 331 ous published guides. These include the who have issued notable book catalogs National Union Catalog of Manuscript are Howard and the Schomburg Collec­ Collections, Directory of Afro-Ameri­ tion of the New York Public Library. can Resources by Schatz, Guide to Man­ Statistics of the number of volumes uscript Collections by Hamer, and Sub­ in black studies were available from ject Collections by Ash. In addition to nineteen libraries, each maintaining sep­ these sources, many of the black libraries arate special collections. Table 1 shows have published handbooks, guides, ac­ that as of September 1969 there was a quisition lists, and other items which re­ total of 132,578 volumes in black stud­ cord and/ or describe the contents of ies in these libraries, the largest reported the collections. Examples of these are at 30,000 volumes, and the smallest at "Guide to Manuscripts and Archives in 50. Collections housing sizeable amounts the Negro Collection of Trevor Arnett of black studies materials were At­ Library" and "Special Collections in lanta ( 21,000 ), Fisk ( 30,000 ), Hampton the Fisk University Library." (11,314), and Texas Southern (18,000). Five of the libraries included in the The table shows further the percent of survey have published book catalogs of total library materials identified as those their collections. These are Hampton, in black studies. It must be pointed out Florida A&M, Jackson State, Lincoln that certain libraries, such as those at (Pennsylvania), and Texas Southern. Southern, Grambling, and Prairie View, Libraries not reporting in the survey have other black studies materials in the

TABLE 1 VOLUMES OF BLACK STUDIES MATERIALS IN CERTAIN BLACK COLLEGE LIBRARIES, SEPTEMBER 1, 1969

Volumes in Total Volumes Percent Institutions Black Studies in Library in Black Studies pAlabarna A & M 2,103 104,641 2.0 pArkansas A M & M 1,700 59,523 2.8 vAtlanta 21,000 240,000 8.7 vBenedict 6,000 49,261 12.1 pCentral State 2,000 90,000 2.2 pCheyney 2,000 86,760 2.3 vClaflin 767 38,385 1.9 vFisk 30,000 163,467 18.3 vFlorida Memorial 2,000 41,862 4.7 pGrambling 1,250 80,754 1.5 v Hampton Institute 11,314 120,616 9.3 v Jarvis Christian 910 38,522 2.3 pKentucky State 4,305 58,806 7.3 pLangston 1,714 108,218 1.5 vLeMoyne-Owen 3,000 50,586 5.9 v Lincoln (Pennsylvania) 6,893 117,612 5.8 v Livingstone 2,476 44,156 5.6 vMorris 1,900 21,025 9.0 vPaul Quinn 2,000 25,150 7.9 pPrairie View 1,696 116,358 1.4 vSt. Augustine 4,000 49,009 8.1 pSouthern University 700 212,435 0.3 vStillman 850 39,121 2.1 pTexas Southern 18,000 179,866 10.0 vXavier 4,000 102,891 --3.8 Total 132,578 2,239,024 13.68 p-Publicly supported. v-Privately supported. 332 I College & Research Libraries • September 1974

general collection that were not report­ lections of paperback books in black ed. studies to each of the black college li­ Materials in forms other than books, braries. The purpose of the gift was to periodicals, and newspapers were found enrich holdings in this area and to make in a number of these libraries, particu­ the materials easily accessible to stu­ larly in the special collections of black dents, particularly in libraries where materials. Types of materials reported few materials of this type had been col­ in the various libraries are shown in Ta­ lected. An examination of the collec­ ble 2. As the table indicates, slightly tions in these libraries revealed that these materials greatly enriched black TABLE 2 studies materials already gathered, fre­ TYPES OF BLACK STUDIES MATERIALS HELD BY quently forming the nucleus of newer LIBRARIES IN CERTAIN TRADITIONALLY BLACK collections in that area. COLLEGES, SEPTEMBER 1969 Of particular significance to those col­ Libraries leges who were members of the United Types of Materials Reporting ( N = 65) Negro College Fund in 1969, the 3M Manuscripts 10 Company helped to supplement and to Microfilm 23 enrich their special collections and gen­ Microfiche 0 eral materials on black studies by pre­ Microcard 20 Microprint 21 senting a collection of materials on Recordings 14 microfilm as well as two reader-printers Tapes (audio) 4 for their use. The collection consisted · Tapes (video) 9 College archives 35 primarily of black studies materials Other archives 6 filmed in the Schomburg Collection of Films 6 the New York Public Library and was Filmstrips 16 Reproductions 4 designed for use in curriculum enrich­ Photographs 17 ment. Slides 7 Frequently, the development of col­ Scrapbooks 14 Uncataloged pamphlets 18 lections along desirable lines is more Art objects 8 easily assured when acquisition policy Paintings 9 statements are prepared and observed. Ten libraries reported that such policies more than one-third of the libraries in­ had been developed for collecting black cluded in the survey reported no hold­ materials, with eight of these reported ings in black studies materials in the in libraries where separate special black form of microfilm, Microcard, and Mi­ collections were established. croprint. Thirty-five libraries reported Materials used for book selection in that college archives are collected. Other these libraries generally included such types of materials are generally less well sources as Bibliographic Survey, Ebony, represented in these collections. Black World, Journal of Negro His­ Special gifts of materials that have tory, Negro History Bulletin, Publishers' . been added to these libraries during the Weekly, Choice, Freedomtoays, Bibliog­ past five years include a number of raphy of the Negro in Africa and manuscript collections in such libraries America, and catalogs of various reprint as Atlanta, Hampton, Fisk, Lincoln companies. Atlanta and Fisk reported (Pennsylvania), Tuskegee, Virginia use of Library of Congress catalog State, Kentucky State, and Livingstone. cards, which have been sent to them con­ Some of these collections also include tinuously over the years expressly for books. In 1969 the Southern Association the purpose of selection in this area. A of Colleges and Schools presented col- few libraries used the Dictionary Cata- Special Collections of Black Literature I 333 log of the Schomburg Collection of Ne­ ported that quarters for special collec­ gro Literature and History for build­ tions were air-conditioned. The condi­ ing collections. tion of furniture in these libraries Responsibility for selection of mate­ ranged from excellent to poor and was rials was generally placed with the li­ about evenly divided in the various cate­ brary staff, with the faculty assuming gories. much less responsibility in this area. In Size of quarters varied. Two libraries some instances, however, the faculty had exceeded their capacity; another, a and the library staff shared this respon­ new facility, had already reached its ca­ sibility. pacity; while ten had room for expand­ The physical condition of materials ing the collection. For the most part, on black subjects in these libraries was seating was provided at tables in special generally good. Four reported that the collections areas, with few provisions materials were in fair condition, while made for individual as well as informal two reported that their condition was seating. poor. Some of the manuscript and ar­ Access to stack areas housing these chival materials in the larger research materials was provided for undergradu­ collections were brittle and fragile, as ate students in seventeen libraries, with they succumbed to extreme conditions ten reporting that stacks were closed. of heat, humidity, and dust over the Graduate students were provided direct years, at times before they were· ac­ access to stacks housing black studies quired by the library and at other times materials in seven libraries, although after they were collected. some of the reporting libraries had no graduate students. Faculty access to the F AGILITIES, SERVICES, AND PROGRAMS stacks was provided in seventeen li­ Standards of the American Library braries. Eight libraries reported that Association suggest that the success of stacks were closed to all patrons. a library's services is presupposed by an As in libraries generally, loss of ma­ adequate library building, with ample terials through theft was a common quarters for processing and similar ac­ problem. Frequently, such losses reached tivities. Ideally, service.s which the li­ serious proportions and deprived stu­ brary undertakes must be provided for dents and faculties of items needed al­ in areas that are well-planned. These most daily for class work. Popular and standards are immediately applicable classic works such as Soul on Ice, The when special collections are provided. Negro in American Culture, and From Buildings must take into consideration Slavery to Freedom were nearly always the functions that special collections are lost. New materials placed on the to serve, particularly when these func­ shelves frequently disappeared immedi­ tions involve service to the students and ately when they met the current inter­ faculty as well as research functions, as ests of patrons. is the case with several of the black col­ Equipment available in the special leges. collections areas generally included In studying facilities for housing and microfilm readers, microfilm reader­ servicing special black collections in the printers, record players, filmstrip projec­ twenty-six libraries reporting, it was tors, and slide projectors. found that quarters in three libraries Hours of service varied from a high were excellent, those in fourteen were of ninety per week to a low of forty­ good, those in four were fair, and those four. Service at night was provided in in four were poor. Two responses were twenty libraries, with the highest num­ not given. Nineteen of the libraries re- ber of night hours reported at twenty- 334 I College & Research Libraries • September 1974 nine, and the lowest at four. Sunday tions, adequate financial support must hours were provided in nineteen li­ be provided to permit proper develop­ braries, with a high of eight hours pro­ ment of the collection. When special vided in one library as compared with collections are provided, it follows that a low of three in another. increased budgets will be needed to sup­ Statistics on use of the collections, in­ port the development of services for cluding interlibrary lo.an, were generally which these collections are maintained. unavailable, as many libraries counted Special collections may require addition­ use of the collections with those of the al staff persons, depending on the ad­ general circulating collection. Materials ministrative organization of this part in the majority of these libraries were of the library. available for use outside the library, Separate budgets for the support of with twelve libraries reporting that ma­ special collections were generally not terials were restricted to room use only. provided in the libraries reporting. In Thirty-one libraries reported that only two instances were separate budgets they provided special services, such as established. Libraries indicated that preparation of bibliographies. Common funds from the regular library budgets practices among the libraries were as­ were used for this purpose. sistance to faculty, students, and mem­ In attempting to determine whether bers of the community in compiling or not special :financial grants had been bibliographies; presenting special book provided to support these collections reviews, lectures, and other activities during the years 1964-65 through 1968-- during Negro History Week; and gen­ 69, it was found that six libraries re­ erally lending assistance as needed. Li­ ceived a total of $83,961 during the braries housing sizeable amounts of years in question. Grants varied from original research materials reported that a high of $32,000 to a low of $1,200. they provided research assistance to visit­ None of the collections was endowed. ing scholars and assisted in the use of A full appraisal of the expenditures these materials. for library materials in black studies in Of those collections housed separate­ the reporting institutions, including ly, six libraries reported that they con­ grants and gifts as well as funds from tributed to union lists of materials; the general library budget, cannot be nine participated in cooperative acquisi­ made. tion programs with other libraries in the Expenditures for materials in black region, while seven were involved in spe­ studies were generally made by the li­ cial agreements concerning use of ma­ brary staff, with a few instances of allo­ terials with other libraries. Of those li­ cations to departments. Such departmen­ braries incorporating black materials in tal allocations were made in connection the general collection, six were engaged with total library development, rather in consortia activities which involved than with a view toward exclusive devel­ the collection and/ or use of black ma­ opment of special collections. Proper terials. development of the collections was at­ Plans for automating various activi­ tempted by strengthening weak areas as ties in special collections were reported well as by gearing selection practices to under consideration in three libraries. :fit the needs of the curricular and re­ These included information retrieval search programs. and preparation of bibliographies. PROJECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE FINANCIAL AsPEcrs Libraries were asked to report any As is true with general library collec- special problems they faced which af- Special Collections of Black Literature I 335

fected the development or use of their The exceptional libraries found in special collections. Responses may be the black colleges are those that have de­ summed up in terms of spatial and fi­ veloped rich collections in black studies nancial needs, as many of the quarters materials. Although they may be lacking were crowded, with little provision for in other areas, the libraries in which staff work space. A number of the li­ these collections are found have become braries were understaHed, particularly in notable. Even with this achievement, the terms of librarians with expertise need­ libraries have not been without prob­ ed to administer the collections. All li­ lems of underfinancing, cramped quar­ braries reported inadequacies in the fi­ ters, and insufficient staHs to process ma­ nancial support received, asserting that terials and to serve the needs of their unfilled needs were the primary students, faculty, and scholars who use reasons behind their problems. the collections. Projections for the future included Collections of black literature now strengthening and greatly expanding the found in the traditionally black li­ book collections, gathering college ar­ braries serve one or more purposes, de­ chives, expanding collection practices to pending on the nature of the resources. gather other materials in the region, en­ Some may be geared to serve only the in­ larging quarters, moving into new quar­ structional program of the institution; ters, adding new staff, and developing some serve the curricular needs as well black oral history programs. as the research requirements of schol­ ars; and, in almost every instance, each SuMMARY OF FINDINGS responds to the requirements of the The development of collections of community by providing resources in black literature in the traditionally this area. If these needs are to be met, black college libraries showed varying and if these libraries are to continue to patterns, with some libraries reporting function in their traditional roles simul­ the inclusion of such materials in their taneously, they will require additional libraries from the year of inception and and substantial financial support. others reporting the establishment of The history of black people, black collections in later years by interested colleges, and black libraries supports the benefactors. Still others, in more recent conclusion that the black heritage must years, established these collections to be preserved. Black students, and others, support the epidemic of curricular pro­ must be introduced to this heritage grams in black studies or, in some in­ more completely through larger, richer stances, as a response to the demands of collections of black literature. The tra­ students protesting the absence of such ditionally black colleges and their li­ materials in forms more visible to them. braries share this responsibility.

REFERENCES 1. Earl J. McGrath, The Predominantly Negro (Washington, D.C., 1942), p.98. CoUeges and Universities in Transition 3. Wallace Van Jackson, "The Countee Cullen (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teach­ Memorial Collection at Atlanta University," ers College, Columbia University, 1965), The Crisis 54:140-42 (May 1947). p.129. 4. Arna Bontemps, "Special Collections of Ne­ 2. U.S. Office of Education, Federal Security groana," Library Quarterly 14:187-206 (July Agency, National Survey of the Higher Ed­ 1964). ucation of Negroes, Vol. 1, Misc. No. 6