Schomburg Center For Research in Black Culture - Early History - 135th Street Branch

135th Street Branch

In 1901, Andrew Carnegie tentatively agreed to donate $5,200,000 (presently, $1,379,800,000) to construct sixty-five branch libraries in New York City, with the requirement that the City provide the land and maintain the buildings once construction was complete. 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. McKim, Mead & White was chosen, as the architects and Charles Follen McKim designed the three story library building at 103 West 135th Street in the Italian Renaissance Palazzo mode. At its opening on July 14, 1905, the library had 10,000 books and its librarian in charge was Getrude Cohen.

In 1920, Ernestine Rose, a white woman born in Bridgehampton in 1880, became the branch librarian. She quickly integrated the all white, library staff. Catherine Latimer, the first African American librarian hired by the NYPL, was sent to work with Rose as was Roberta Bosely months later.. Some time later became employed at the branch Sadie Peterson Delaney. Together, they created a plan to assist integrating reading into the lives of the library attendees and cooperated with schools and social organizations in the community. In 1921, the library hosted the first exhibition of African-American in Harlem; it became an annual event. The library became a focal point to the burgeoning Harlem Renaissance. In 1923, the 135th Street branch was the only branch in New York City employing Negroes as librarians, and consequently when Regina M. Anderson was hired by the NYPL, she was sent to work at the 135th Street branch.

Rose issued a report to the American Library Association, in 1923, which stated that requests for books about Negros or written by Negros had been increasing, and that the demand for professionally trained colored librarians was also. In late 1924, Rose called a meeting, with attendees including Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, James Weldon Johnson, Hubert Harrison, that decided to focus on preserving rare books, solicit donations to enhance its African American collection. On May 8, 1925, it began operating as the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints, a division of the NYPL. In 1926, Schomburg was interested in selling his collection of African American literature because he wanted it to be available to he general public, but he wanted the collection to stay in Harlem.

Rose and the National 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. About 5,000 objects in Schomburg's collection were donated.

In 1929, Andrews was desirous of a promotion enlisted W. E. B. Du Bois and Walter Francis White when she was being discriminated against because she was not getting a promotion. After a letters of intervention on her behalf by Du Bois and White, and a boycott of the library by White, Andrews was promoted and transferred to the Rivington Street branch of the NYPL.

In 1930, the Center had 18,000 volumes.

In 1932, Schomburg became collection the curator of his collection until his death in 1938.

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.

Dr. Lawrence D. Reddick became the next curator of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature.

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.

In 1942 Rose retired to Bridgehampton.

Rose retired immediately after an extension was built onto the rear of the building at a time when the library had 40,000 books and 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.