|
Who we are and what we are?
The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History is a Special Library of the Atlanta-Fulton County Library System. It is the first library of its kind in the southeast offering specialized reference and archival collections for the study and research of African cultures. The library is a public facility with non-circulating collections, free services and programs. The library is open to the general public seven days each week.
Organization History
The nucleus of the Auburn Avenue Research Library collection was established in 1934 as the Negro History Collection of Non-Circulating Books. This unique collection was created by combining a small existing collection at the first Auburn Avenue Branch Library, with another small collection from the Adult Education Project which operated from 1931 to 1934. In 1949 the collection was moved to the West Hunter Branch Library, the second branch established to serve Atlanta's African American population.
In 1970, the Collection was then moved to the Special Collections Department at the Central Library. Here it was renamed, The Samuel W. Williams Collection on Black America. In 1994, the Collection was transferred to the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. The Collection has steadily expanded and has served as a focal point for library researchers seeking information on the culture and history of people of African descent.
Today
The Collection is housed in Auburn Avenue Research Library. The collection has experienced considerable expansion and the mission of the library continues to evolve. The history of slavery, race relations, African American community development and the Civil Rights Movement have been the foundation of the Research Library's collections, however, Africa before colonlization is well represented by classic and contemporary works. The holdings include the papers of prominent artists, educators, authors, business leaders, clergy, politicians, lawyers, and musicians. The collection contains approximately 250,000 photographs dating from 1859. Literary manuscript holdings contain letters and original manuscripts from prominent Harlem Renaissance writers and poets. The Research Library is guardian to more than 200 works of African and African American art.
Mission
As the nation's second largest archives specializing in the history of African Americans and Africans in the Diaspora, the Auburn Avenue Research Library is dedicated to preserving African American heritage by providing a home to the manuscripts, photographs, oral histories, books, periodicals and works of art that contain the history of peoples, of nations, of beliefs and dreams, of a past worth sharing with the future.
|
