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AFRICAN AMERICANS AND PUBLIC LIBRARIES.

Examines issues that impact on public library services, past and present. Policy makers who shaped library collections and use patterns. Segregated libraries in the South. Challenge to segregation of libraries in 1960s. Effect of multiculturalism. Role played by the American Library Association (ALA). Concludes the African American community is still underserved by the public library system.

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African-Americans and Public Libraries
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to examine, from a historical perspective, the African-American’s ability to receive service from public libraries. To that end, the paper will examine library service to African-Americans from the period of slavery through the Civil War, Reconstruction, World War I and World War II, and through to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its effect on the public library. A brief discussion of the role played by the American Library Association (ALA) and the effect of multiculturalism will also be provided.
The rationale for selecting this particular subject is based upon the recognition that the public library functions in a democratic society as a source of information and knowledge and simultane

832 - 834.Graham, Patterson T. Graham, "Public Librarians and the Civil RightsMovement," op. Only Covington, Kentuckyallowed both Blacks and Whites to jointly use its library facilities in19 1.[9] Houston was another site favored by Andrew Carnegie for his massivelibrary building program. cit., p. As McDowell notes, much more remains to be done to improvelibrary service to African-Americans and their communities.[2 ]Conclusion This brief report has examined some of the issues that havehistorically as well as presently impacted upon public library services forAfrican-Americans. Chicago: AmericanLibrary Association, 1947,pp. Those slaves and freed men and women whodid read and were educated to some degree or another were generally notlikely to be allowed access to such public libraries as did exist.[3] The earliest public libraries were established in urban centers andmajor cities such as Boston and New York by philanthropists (like AndrewCarnegie) and educators whose goal it was to provide access to readingmaterials to the middle and lower classes in America. Currently, the Black Caucus of the ALA (BCALA) has movedaggressively to bring forward issues centered on diversity and diversity atits meetings and those of the larger professional organization. 18 .[8] Anonymous. Libraries today offer access to importantnew information technologies, augment school efforts, and facilitate adultliteracy. Most African-Americans wereeither prohibited from voting or had only a marginal influence over thepolitical process. 9 - 16.Wiegand, Wayne. Malone, op. [18] Now some 1 -plus years old, BCALA has recently reported that ascarcity of African-American librarians is a major problem facing thepublic library system. However, thevast majority of these libraries were segregated. This public not only supplied most of the policymakers who shapedlibrary collections and use patterns, but also included the vast majorityof librarians who dominated the profession.[2] As American society hasmoved toward integration and multiculturalism, constructing an analysis ofthe treatment of minorities by libraries has taken on new significance.Discussion During the slave era, there were relatively few truly "public"libraries in the entire United States and slaves, as a group, were notpermitted to use these facilitates where they did exist. "Autonomy and Accommodation." Libraries & Culture, Spring 1999, 34 92 , pp. Graham, 'Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky,op. The values of the library profession demand that thiseffort be undertaken in the interest of equity, access and simple justice. It was then proposed that asession on the library's role in the education of African-Americans shouldbe included in the conference. cit., p. Supreme Court to finally integratemost Southern public libraries.[14] Prior to the Civil Rights Movement, the ALA and its state chaptersdid take up issues related to public library services for African-Americans. Booker T. African-Americans and Public LibrariesIntroduction The purpose of this report is to examine, from a historicalperspective, the African-American's ability to receive service from publiclibraries. Initially, this library functioned in a temporary space witha short-term commitment of funds. Though served more fully and effectively today than inthe past, the African-American community in general remains underserved bythe public library system. "Making Books Available." African American Review, Spring 1998, 32 (1 , pp. "Toward a Multicultural Public Library History." Libraries & Culture, Winter 2 , 35 (1), pp. Though immigrant children in urban areas wereencouraged to use public libraries, African-American children were educatedseparately and were not permitted to access the vast majority of resourcesin publicly supported libraries.[7] Some libraries, including those in Louisville, Kentucky andNashville, Tennessee, did provide racially segregated public librarycollections and services. Malone, "Autonomy and Accommodation." Libraries & Culture,Spring 1999, 34(2), p. 95.[12] Ibid.[13] Patterson T. These libraries - the Western Branchand Eastern Branch - featured an entirely African-American staff. To that end, the paper will examine library service to African-Americans from the period of slavery through the Civil War, Reconstruction,World War I and World War II, and through to the Civil Rights Act of 1964and its effect on the public library. 1.[6] Wayne Wiegand, "This Month 1 Years Ago." American Libraries, April1999, 3 (4), p. 96.[11] Wayne Wiegand, op. 95 - 113.McDowell, Melody M. 12.[18] Beverly Goldberg, "African Americans 'stretch the envelope' and thefirst Black Caucus Conference." American Libraries, November 1992, 23 91),pp. "This Month 1 Years Ago." American Libraries, April 1999, 3 (4), pp. Then ALA president William Coolidge Lanewas not particularly enthusiastic about such a topic and this ALAconference did not address the issue of African-American education or therelationship of this minority group to public libraries.[6] Because of Jim Crow laws and segregation, most libraries deniedSouthern African-Americans library services in the early decades of thetwentieth century. Malone, "Toward a Multicultural American Public LibraryHistory." Libraries & Culture,Winter 2 , 35(1), p. 1.[14] Ibid., pp. "Library Service to African Americans In Kentucky." Library Quarterly, October 2 2, 72 (4), pp. In point of fact,most slaveholders strongly believed that teaching slaves to read was bothdangerous and counterproductive. Where librariesexisted in rural areas of the American South, they were segregatedinstitutions governed by Jim Crow laws. cit., p. "The Louisville Western Branch Library: The First African-American Public Library."The New Crisis, September-October 1999, 1 6(5), p. Louisville also was the first city in the United States to open alibrary training program for African-Americans. According to Tolson, members of the ALA were instrumentalin identifying the shortage of such materials in newly integrated publiclibraries in the 196 s and 197 s and in urging publishers to take a moreproactive role in providing such materials. 5 1 - 5 2.Malone, Cheryl K. Amongthose issues are funding for public libraries located in poor minoritycommunities, outreach to college-age African-American students needed forthe profession, and acquisition of appropriate culturally sensitivematerials. was directlychallenged. Low pay scales for public librarians, limitedopportunities for employment, and a failure on the part of colleges toactively recruit African-American and other minority groups is seen aseroding the presence of such professionals in the public library system.Despite the fact that there are now no racial or ethnic barriers to fullaccess to all the nation's public libraries, many African-American readers(including children) are still served by poorly funded, poorly staffed andinappropriately housed public libraries with limited multicultural content.[19] Despite an end to Jim Crow laws and legally enforced racialsegregation, many public libraries suffer from de facto segregation. 77- 89.Malone, Cheryl K. 5 1.[1 ] Cheryl K. Graham, "Public Librarians and the Civil RightsMovement," Library Quarterly,January 2 1, 71(1), p. Arsenals of a Democratic Culture. 77.[2] Ibid.[3] Patterson T. "Help Wanted at Our Libraries." Black Issues Book Review, March 2 1, 3 (2), pp. The rationale for selecting this particular subject is based upon therecognition that the public library functions in a democratic society as asource of information and knowledge and simultaneously has been used attimes as an instrument of social control that promotes the values of thedominant culture.[1] Despite the rhetoric of open access and intellectualfreedom that developed over the course of the twentieth century, for mostof that time period, library collections and policies reflected theknowledge, beliefs, values, and policies of the largely Caucasian/Anglomainstream public. Chicago: American Library Association, 1947.Goldberg, Beverly. Nancy Tolson suggests that one of the factors motivating thisinterest was the determination of African-American library professionalsand their segregated library branch constituents with the paucity ofreading materials that focused on African-American history and thecontributions of such citizens to the nation.[15] African-Americanlibrarians - whose ranks continued to grow throughout the first severaldecades of the 2 th century despite limited opportunities for professionaleducation and training - realized that children who came to their branchlibraries needed to see images that were appropriately reflective ofthemselves in the texts they read. Though many of theselibraries were based on the principle that equal rights would be securedonly on the basis of intelligence and virtue, the vast majority of publiclibraries served a predominantly Caucasian clientele throughout thenineteenth century and into the early twentieth century.[4] During the Civil War and throughout Reconstruction, public librariesmade little or no effort to serve African-Americans. Many of the all-Black collegesand universities (a number of which were located in the formerly segregatedSouth) served as collection sites for such literature and took, throughtheir school presses, a lead role in disseminating culturally sensitiveliterature.[17] ALA itself has taken a lead role in fostering a more positiveresponse to multiculturalism and diversity in the nation's public librarysystem. BibliographyAnonymous. 832 - 834.[19] Melody McDowell, "Help Wanted at Our Libraries." Black issues BookReview, March 2 1, 3 (2), p. "Public Librarians and the Civil Rights Movement." Library Quarterly, January 2 1, 71 (1), pp. 78 -79.Tolson, Nancy. The ALA and the BCALA must become even moreproactive in finding the financial and other resources needed to improvethis situation. cit., p. 95.[7] Cheryl K. 79 -8 . 9.[16] Ibid., p. 11.[17] Ibid., p. The scarcity of literature andhistory books written for - let alone by - African-Americans is seen byTolson as a problem that has continued to exist long after passage of theCivil Rights Act of 1964.[16] It was not, however, until the 197 s that new and culturallysensitive and accurate books (of all types) that addressed the interests,lives and history of African-Americans began to be readily available inlarge numbers. 1 - 13+.Graham, Patterson T. The WesternBranch Library served Louisville's African-American community until racialsegregation was ended with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and earlier SupremeCourt rulings. Washington, along withCarnegie, was instrumental in ensuring that this African-American librarywould receive the funds it needed to meet the needs of over 2, registered readers in the first decade of the twentieth century.[1 ] During the period from World War I through the Great Depression andWorld War II, more and more local public library boards exhibited awillingness to open libraries targeting African-Americans. "The Louisville Western branch Library: The First African-American Public Library." The New Crisis, September-October 1999, 1 6 (5), pp. In 19 8, financier Andrew Carnegie provided the funds forthe Western Branch Library as he would also do in other communities.[8] White library boards often shunted public libraries for African-Americans into rented spaces or into rooms donated by churches or civicorganizations. BCALA functions as a subgroup within ALA and has an agenda thatsupports enhanced services to poor minority communities. 36 - 38.Ditzion, Sidney H. Houston's Colored Carnegie Library wasestablished in 19 7 as a public library branch specifically for African-American use. The vast majorityof books in segregated libraries serving this minority population tended tobe books representing mainstream social values and attitudes, includingprejudicial and discriminatory attitudes demeaning to African-Americans.Graham asserts that throughout the American South, library boards and statelegislatures were highly resistant to demands in the 195 s and early 196 sthat libraries be opened to all residents. Black readership in Louisville was quite high, leadingCarnegie to construct two different library buildings for the exclusive useof the African-American population. A brief discussion of the roleplayed by the American Library Association (ALA) and the effect ofmulticulturalism will also be provided. Urbancommunities are often segregated involuntarily along racial lines, with acorresponding segregation evident in a number of public institutions.Included are public libraries, which are seen by librarians, educators andpublic policy makers alike as a vital source of knowledge and empowermentfor disadvantaged communities. 3-5.[15] Nancy Tolson, "Making Books Available." African American Review,Spring 1998, 32 (1 , p. Consequently, it would require the passage of the 1964Civil Rights Act and rulings by the U.S. Few books addressed this need, leadingto a concerted effort on the part of librarians to urge the publishingcommunity to respond in a positive manner. 36.[9] Patterson T. Graham takes the position that racial segregation affectedmillions of African-Americans before the Civil Rights movement andultimately it was the effort of Black activists rather than librarians thatended racial segregation in public libraries.[13] Activists in the civil rights movement throughout the Southchallenged the physical segregation of public libraries as well as thecontents of segregated libraries for African-Americans. Graham, "Library Service to Americans in Kentucky,"Library Quarterly, October 2 2,72(4), p. A number of librariesfor this population were funded under such initiatives as the WorksProgress Administration (WPA) and supported at least in part by the ALAwhich opened its membership to African-American librarians in the seconddecade of the twentieth century.[11] Though the ALA permitted African-American librarians to join the organization beginning in 19 7, African-Americans attending ALA conferences until the middle part of the twentiethcentury were housed and fed in segregated quarters.[12] With the advent of the Civil Rights movement, the segregation ofpublic libraries in the South and other parts of the U.S. 95 - 96.-----------------------[1] Cheryl K. 1 -11.[5] Patterson T. One of the earliest libraries used specificallyby African-Americans was established in Louisville in 19 5. Graham has stated that "it was theefforts of Black activists rather than librarians acting on their ethicalimpulses that ended library segregation. 5 1.[4] Sidney Ditzion, Arsenals of a Democratic Culture. 78.[2 ] Ibid., pp. "African Americans 'Stretch the Envelope' at First Black Caucus Conference." American Libraries, November 1992, 23 (1 ), pp. Librarians were constrained bylocal racial customs, Jim Crow laws, and, often, by their own racialattitudes."[5] The ALA, in 1889, first confronted the question of segregation as itwas preparing for a conference in Atlanta.

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