TheSchomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is aresearch library of theNew York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) between West 135th and 136th Streets in theHarlem neighborhood ofManhattan, New York City, it has, almost from its inception, been an integral part of the Harlem community. It is named for Afro-Puerto Rican scholarArturo Alfonso Schomburg.
The resources of the center are broken up into five divisions: the Art and Artifacts Division, theJean Blackwell Hutson General Research and Reference Division, the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, the Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, and the Photographs and Prints Division.
In addition to research services, the center hosts readings, discussions, art exhibitions, and theatrical events. It is open to the general public.
In 1901,Andrew Carnegie tentatively agreed to donate $5.2 million (equivalent to $196,539,200 in 2024) to construct 65branch libraries inNew York City, with the requirement that the City provide the land and maintain the buildings once construction was complete.[1] Later in 1901, Carnegie formally signed a contract with the City of New York to transfer his donation to the city to then allow it to justify purchasing the land to house the libraries.[2]McKim, Mead & White were chosen as the architects andCharles Follen McKim designed the three-story library building at 103 West 135th Street in the Italian Renaissance Palazzo mode.[3] At its opening on July 14, 1905, the library had 10,000 books[4] and the librarian in charge was Gertrude Cohen.[5]
World War II-eraWPA poster promoting use of the Schomburg Collection of the New York Public Library (Federal Art Project 1941–43)
In 1920,Ernestine Rose, a white woman born inBridgehampton in 1880, became the branch librarian.[6] She quickly integrated the all-white library staff.[7]Catherine Allen Latimer, the first African-American librarian hired by the NYPL, was sent to work with Rose, as was Roberta Bosely months later.[8] Some time later,Sadie Peterson Delaney became employed at the branch.[9] Together, they created a plan to assist in integrating reading into the lives of the library attendees and cooperated with schools and social organizations in the community.[10]
In 1921, the library hosted the first exhibition of African-American art in Harlem; it became an annual event.[11] The library became a focal point to the burgeoningHarlem Renaissance.[7] In 1923, the 135th Street branch was the only branch in New York City employing Negroes as librarians,[12] and consequently whenRegina M. Anderson was hired by the NYPL, she was sent to work at the 135th Street branch.[10][13]
Rose issued a report to theAmerican Library Association, in 1923, which stated that requests for books about Negroes or written by Negroes had been increasing,[14] and that the demand for professionally trained colored librarians was also.[15] In late 1924, Rose called a meeting, with attendees includingArturo Alfonso Schomburg,James Weldon Johnson,Hubert Harrison, that decided to focus on preserving rare books, and solicit donations to enhance its African-American collection.[16] On May 8, 1925, it began operating as theDivision of Negro Literature, History and Prints, a division of the NYPL.[17] In 1926, Schomburg was interested in selling his collection of African-American literature because he wanted it to be available to the general public,[18] but he wanted the collection to stay in Harlem.[19] Rose and theNational Urban League convinced the Carnegie Foundation to pay $10,000 to Schomburg and then donate the books to the library. In 1926, the center's collection won acclaim with the addition of Schomburg's personal collection. By donating his collection, Schomburg sought to show that black people had a history and a culture and thus were not inferior to other races.[20] About 5,000 objects in Schomburg's collection were donated.[21]
In 1929, Anderson was desirous of a promotion and enlisted the help ofW. E. B. Du Bois andWalter Francis White when she was being discriminated against by not being promoted. After letters of intervention on her behalf by Du Bois and White, and a boycott of the library by White, Anderson was promoted and transferred to theRivington Street branch of the NYPL.[22]
By 1930, the center had 18,000 volumes.[4] In 1932, Schomburg became the first curator of his collection, until he died in 1938.[23] In 1935, the Center developed a project to deliver books once a week to those handicapped severely enough that they could not make it to the library.[24] Dr.Lawrence D. Reddick became the second curator of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature.[25] At the behest of Reddick, in October 1940, the entire Division of Negro History, Literature and Prints was renamed the Schomburg Collection of Negro History and Literature.[26]
In 1942, Rose retired[27] after an extension was built onto the rear of the building, at a time when the library had 40,000 books. Dorothy Robinson Homer replaced her as Branch Librarian, after the Citizen's Committee of the 135th Street Branch Library specifically requested a Negro to replace Rose.[28]
After the extension was built, the library became known as theCountee Cullen Library branch,[29] and the 135th Street Library is still considered the original location of the Countee Cullen branch,[30] although that name is now only used for the extension itself on West 136th Street.[31]
Homer created a room of books just for young adults and created theAmerican Negro Theatre in the basement that spawned the playAnna Lucasta, which was moved to Broadway. She kept the emphasis on building a community center for art, music and drama. She put on art exhibits that favored unknown, young artists of all races.[32]
After the outbreak of WWII, Homer started a program of monthly concert recitals in the auditorium to enhance public spirit, but the demand by performers and audience members to continue the practice made it permanent.[33]
In 1948,Jean Blackwell was named the director of the center.[34] In a 1966 speech, Hutson warned of the perilous status of the Schomburg collection.[35]
In 1971, the center began being supported by the privately funded Schomburg Corporation.[36] The next year, funds by New York City were allocated to renovate the building at 103 West 135th,[37] and it was renamed the building of theSchomburg Collection for Research in Black Culture.[38] Simultaneously, the entire Schomburg collection was rounded up from various branch libraries and transferred to the center.[39] In 1972, it was designated as one of NYPL's research libraries.
In 1973, a building on the west side of Lenox Ave between 135th and 136th was bought to be demolished and a new building could be constructed. The location was chosen due to its proximity to other community agencies and because it was the "scene of the Harlem Renaissance."[40] In 1978, the building on 135th Street between Lenox and 7th Avenues was entered into theNational Register of Historic Places.[41] In 1979, it was formally listed in the NRHP.[42]
In 1980, a new Schomburg Center was founded at 515Lenox Avenue.[36] In 1981, the original building on West 135th Street which held the Schomburg Collection was designated aNew York City Landmark.[43] In 2016, both the original and current buildings, now joined by a connector, were designated aNational Historic Landmark.[44]
In 1981,Wendell L. Wray became the director of the center.[46] Protests began over Wray's decision to not hire an African-American man to head the center's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Books Division and instead hired Robert Morris.[47] In 1983, Wray resigned to pursue academic research[46] and Catherine Hooker was named acting director.[48]
Howard Dodson became the director in 1984, at a time when the Schomburg was primarily a cultural center visited by tourists and schoolchildren and its research facilities were known only to scholars.[20] In 1984, the Schomburg's collection was at 5 million. In 1984, attendance was 40,000 a year.[49] As early as 1984, the Schomburg was recognized as the most important institution in the world for collections of art and literature of people in Africa or its diaspora.[50] In 1983, a scholars-in-residence program started at the center.[51] In 1986, an exhibit entitledGive me your poor... sparked controversy.[52] In March 1987, a public funding campaign was started to raise money to renovate the old library and to enhance the new Center's housing and its functions.[53]
In 1991, additions to the Schomburg Center were completed. The new center on Malcolm X was expanded to include an auditorium and a connection to the old landmark building on 135th.[54] TheArt and Artifacts Division and theMoving Image and Recorded Sound Division were moved into the old landmark building.[55] In 2000, the Schomburg Center held an exhibition titled "Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery", which later went on tour around the world for more than a decade under the sponsorship ofUNESCO'sSlave Route Project. In 2005, the center held an exhibition of letters, photographs and other materials related to Malcolm X.[20] In 2007, the building was renovated and expanded in an $11 million project. The Schomburg Center had 120,000 visitors a year; by 2010, Dodson announced he would retire in early 2011.[20]
Following Howard Dodson's announcement of his retirement in 2010,[20]Khalil Gibran Muhammad, great-grandson ofElijah Muhammad and professor of history atIndiana University, was announced as Dodson's replacement.[49] In the summer of 2011, Muhammad became the fifth director of the Schomburg. His stated goals were for the Schomburg to be a focal point for young adults and to collaborate with the local community, to not only reinforce its pride, but also for the center to be a gateway for revealing the history of Black people worldwide.[57] In July, the center began an exhibit of Malcolm X footage and prints entitledMalcolm X: the Search for Truth.
On August 1, 2016, the New York Public Library announced that poet and academicKevin Young would begin as director of the Schomburg in the late fall of 2016.[58][59] During Young's four-year tenure, attendance increased by 40%, to 300,000 visitors per year.[60] He is credited with raising more than $10 million in grants and donations, and securing several high-profile acquisitions, including the papers ofJames Baldwin;Harry Belafonte; and the coupleOssie Davis andRuby Dee.[60][61] A $22.3 million renovation of the Schomburg Center buildings was completed in 2017.[62][63] The project included new gallery and research areas; upgrades to the Langston Hughes Auditorium; a two-story annex; and upgrades to the second-floor Rare Books Reading Room.[63]
In 2021, Joy Bivins was appointed as the director of the Schomburg Center.[65][66] The next year, theDormitory Authority of the State of New York provided $8 million for a renovation of the Schomburg Center buildings.[62][67] The work included energy-efficiency and safety upgrades, in addition to a replacement of existing windows and roof.[62] The NYPL hosted various events in 2025 to celebrate the Schomburg Collection's 100th anniversary.[68][69]
The Claude McKay Estate is represented by the Faith Childs Literary Agency. In the past, the center had acted as the literary representative of the heirs ofClaude McKay.[85]: ix
^ab"Library's West 135th Street Branch Will Mark 25th Anniversary Tuesday: Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature Brought Harlem Unit 'to Attention of Book World--Considered Finest".New York Amsterdam News. July 30, 1930. p. 3.ProQuest226222291.
^Jordan, Casper LeRoy (2000). "African American Forerunners in Librarianship". In E. J. Josey; Marva L. DeLoach (eds.).Handbook of Black Librarianship (2 ed.). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 31.
^"Interest Increases In Negro Literature: Miss Ernestine Rose Does Not Believe in Purely Colored Libraries".New York Amsterdam News. May 2, 1923. p. 7.ProQuest226214352.
^"Mrs. Latimer in Charge of Negro History Department: Ass't Librarian".New York Amsterdam News. January 26, 1927. p. 9.ProQuest226371429.; "2,932 volumes, 1,124 pamphlets, and many valuable prints" cf;Sinnette (1989), p. 141 (New York Library Bulletin 31, April 1927, p. 295).
^"Schomburg is Buried While Crowds Mourn: Famous Curator Dead at 64; Collected Rare Books, Prints".New York Amsterdam News. June 18, 1938. p. 1.ProQuest226160559. cf.Schomburg Center History.
^Berlack-Boozer, Thelma (June 18, 1938). "Shut-Ins Cheered By Books From Library: Special Service for Them Operated Only At Busy Branch in West 135th".New York Amsterdam News. p. 8.ProQuest226161624.
^"Curator of Negro Literature".The New York Times. August 23, 1929. p. 24.ProQuest102836697. "Dr. Lawrence D. Reddick has been appointed curator of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature at the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library."
^"New Librarian Takes Over At Harlem Branch: Mrs. Dorothy R. Homer, 10 Years on Job, Gets Top Spot at 135th St".New York Amsterdam News. June 27, 1942. p. 4.ProQuest226089714.
^"Miss Rhodes [sic, Ernestine Rose] Dies; Integrated Library".New York Amsterdam News. April 16, 1961. p. 4.ProQuest225451240.
^Courtney, Charles (December 30, 1944). "Library Tradition Carried On By Dynamic Little Lady: She Heads Popular Uptown Library Branch Civic-Minded".New York Amsterdam News. pp. 5A.ProQuest226038138.
^"Doris Earle and Sallee Smith Set For Joint Recital".New York Amsterdam News. February 9, 1946. p. 18.ProQuest225928025.
^Anekwe, Simon (November 4, 1978). "Schomburg Center, historic property".New York Amsterdam News. pp. A11.ProQuest226445221.; cf.Stein Lauds Hudson.
^Fraser, C. Gerald (April 1, 1979). "Schomburg Unit Listed as Landmark: Spawning Ground of Talent 40 Seats Are Not Enough Plans for a Museum".The New York Times.ProQuest120941139.
^Goedeken, Edward A. (1998). "The Founding and Prevalence of African-American Social Libraries & Historical Societies, 1828–1918". In John Mark Tucker (ed.).Untold Stories: Civil Rights, Libraries and Black Librarianship. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois. p. 38.ISBN087845-1048.
^"Lawrence Brown Papers" at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library.
^"Melva L. Price papers".New York Public Library, Archives & Manuscripts. RetrievedFebruary 10, 2021.
^"Thomas Henderson Kerr, Jr. papers".Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts. RetrievedJune 13, 2025.
^"William Pickens papers", Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.
^"Dennis Brutus Papers", Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.
^"Alexander Crummell Papers", Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.
^Kaiser, Ernest (2000). "Library Holdings on African Americans". In E. J. Josey; Marva L. DeLoach (eds.).Handbook of Black Librarianship (2 ed.). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. pp. 259–261.
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Tibbets, Celeste (1995).Ernestine Rose and the Origins of the Schomburg Center. New York: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.ISBN0871044196.
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Anderson, Sarah A. (October 2003). "'The Place to Go': The 135th Street Branch Library and the Harlem Renaissance".The Library Quarterly.73 (4):383–421.doi:10.1086/603439.JSTOR4309684.S2CID147547271.
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Tour of the Schomburg Center conducted by Khalil Gibran Muhammad, May 27, 2015,C-SPAN
