Schomburg Public Programs at the Countee Cullen Library collection

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id: 11705
origination: New York Public Library. Countee Cullen Branch
date statement: 1941-1979
key date: 1941
identifier (local_mss): 20991
org unit: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division
call number: Sc MIRS Countee
b-number: b22741523
total components: 227
total series: 0
max depth: 1
boost queries: (none)
component layout: Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields: false
Extended Navigation: false
created: 2024-06-28 15:46:56 UTC
updated: 2026-01-20 21:04:27 UTC
status note: (missing)
Display Aeon link: true

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unitid: {"value"=>"20991", "type"=>"local_mss"}

{"value"=>"b22741523", "type"=>"local_b"}

{"value"=>"Sc MIRS Countee", "type"=>"local_call"}
unitdate: {"value"=>"1941-1979", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1941/1979"}
unittitle: {"value"=>"Schomburg Public Programs at the Countee Cullen Library collection"}
physdesc: {"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"208 audio_recordings", "unit"=>"audio_recordings"}]}
repository: {"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division</span>"}
abstract: {"value"=>"The Schomburg Public Programs at the Countee Cullen Library collection consists of 208 sound recordings created from 1941 to 1979. These recordings largely document programs held at the home libraries of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, History and Prints, the precursor to the Schomburg Center. The collection was first housed in New York Public Library's 135th St. Branch Library, which was renamed the Countee Cullen Library in 1951."}
langmaterial: {"value"=>"English"}
origination: {"value"=>"New York Public Library. Countee Cullen Branch", "type"=>"corpname"}
bioghist: {"value"=>"<p>The Schomburg Collection, renamed from the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints to commemorate Arthur Schomburg after his death, was first housed in New York Public Library's 135th St. Branch Library, which was renamed the Countee Cullen Library in 1951. The name \"Countee Cullen Library\" is used throughout this finding aid, although the library has also historically been referred to as the \"Countee Cullen Branch\" and \"Countee Cullen Regional Branch Library.\"</p> <p>The following is a chronology of key events in the history of the Schomburg Collection and its home libraries.</p> <p><ul class=\"chronlist\"> <div class=\"head\">Timeline of the Schomburg Collection</div> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1905</span> <span class=\"event\">New York Public Library's (NYPL) 135th Street Branch opens.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1920</span> <span class=\"event\">NYPL librarian Ernestine Rose was assigned to the library to adapt the staff and resources to reflect the burgeoning Black and Puerto Rican communities in the neighborhood. In 1920, she hires NYPL's first Black librarian, Catherine Allen Latimer. NYPL's first Puerto Rican librarian, Pura Belpré, who was also of African descent, is hired in 1922.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1924</span> <span class=\"event\">In December, Ernestine Rose creates a citizens' committee to address underfunding and increasing demand for the collection. The committee elects Arthur Schomburg, James Weldon Johnson, Hubert H. Harrison and John Nail as officers, and the group recommends that the rarest materials be set aside as a reference library. Noted Black collectors such as John E. Bruce, Louise Latimer, Hubert Harrison, George Young, and Dr. Charles D. Martin, in addition to Arthur Schomburg, contribute materials from their private libraries to the new collection, which is named the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1925</span> <span class=\"event\">On May 8, the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints (commonly referred to as \"The Negro Division\") officially opens in the 135th Street Branch, helmed by reference librarian Catherine Latimer.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1926</span> <span class=\"event\">NYPL, with a Carnegie Corporation grant, acquires Arthur Schomburg's personal collection of more than 5,000 volumes, 3,000 manuscripts, 2,000 art works, and several thousand pamphlets. The acquisition immediately brings international stature to the Negro Division.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1932</span> <span class=\"event\">NYPL hires Arthur Schomburg as curator for the Negro Division, also funded by a Carnegie Corporation grant. Under his direction, and working with Latimer, the division's holdings are expanded and organized, including the start of the first detailed description of its collections.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1938</span> <span class=\"event\">On June 10, Arthur Schomburg dies at 64 in Brooklyn's Madison Park Hospital following dental surgery. In his honor, the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints is renamed the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, History and Prints.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1939</span> <span class=\"event\">Dr. Lawrence D. Reddick, a noted historian and lecturer, is appointed to succeed Schomburg as curator. Under his direction, the library expands into public programming with lecture series, exhibitions, and commemorative events. In 1940, the library also becomes the home of the American Negro Theater.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1942</span> <span class=\"event\">Following a temporary relocation to the Harlem Branch, the Schomburg Collection moves into its new home on the top floor of the new 135th Street Branch building, now on 136th Street.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1946</span> <span class=\"event\">Catherine Latimer retires.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1948</span> <span class=\"event\">Dr. Dorothy Williams (Collings), who had been a cataloger for the Schomburg Collection in 1939 and 1940, becomes the curator for six months before accepting a position with UNESCO. Librarian Jean Blackwell Hutson is subsequently appointed curator.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1950</span> <span class=\"event\">The 25th anniversary of the Schomburg Collection is observed with speakers and an exhibition in NYPL's Central Building on Fifth Avenue in addition to a concert at the 135th Street Branch. Langston Hughes, a friend of Arthur Schomburg, Jean Blackwell Hutson, and the Schomburg Collection, wrote the poem \"Prelude to Our Age\" for the occasion.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1951</span> <span class=\"event\">The 135th Street Branch becomes the Countee Cullen Library. It is renamed for poet and educator Countee Cullen (1903- 1946), who was a luminary of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as a friend and neighbor of the library. The branch occupies the site of a Harlem Renaissance landmark; the townhouse of A'Lelia Walker, which was a gathering place for artists and writers in the 1920s. A'Lelia was the daughter of cosmetics tycoon Madam C. J. Walker.</span></li> <li class=\"chronitem\"> <span class=\"date\">1950s</span> <span class=\"event\">Jean Blackwell Hutson focuses on processing four storerooms of material which had accumulated following Catherine Latimer's retirement, and publicizing the Schomburg Collection to local groups who were previously unaware of its holdings.</span></li></ul></p>"}
scopecontent: {"value"=>"<p>The Schomburg Public Programs at the Countee Cullen Library collection consists of 208 audio recordings created from 1941 to 1979. The recordings largely document programs held at the home libraries of the Schomburg Collection of Negro Literature, History and Prints, the precursor to the Schomburg Center.</p> <p>In addition to programs held at the library, the collection includes offsite events that featured, or were recorded or collected by, Schomburg staff. These include presentations by Harlem organizations; readings and book release celebrations; and lectures regarding African culture and history. The collection also includes community forums, conferences, audio recordings of radio and television broadcasts, recordings of commercial releases, and documentation of other events and material relevant to the Black communities of Harlem, and more broadly, the African diaspora.</p> <p>Staff from the Schomburg Collection and New York Public Library, including Dorothy Homer, Jean Blackwell Hutson, and Wendell Wray, regularly appear in the collection, in addition to scholars and writers such as John Henrik Clarke, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, and Sonia Sanchez.</p> <p>When names or spellings for participants are unclear, they appear in square brackets in the item's content note. Because the original collection consisted of open-reel tapes, many of the items contain two or more parts, one for each side of the reel. The collection is arranged by the classmark created by the librarians, which is CC/SC (abbreviated for Countee Cullen/Schomburg Collection) and sequence (#001 - #220). The sequence largely reflects the chronological order of events. Gaps in sequence reflect duplicate items.</p>"}
processinfo: {"value"=>"<p>Collection inventoried by <span class=\"name\">Nathan Evans</span>, <span class=\"name\">Stacey Doyle Ference</span>, and <span class=\"name\">Virginia Mullaney</span>. Collection processed and described by <span class=\"name\">Alison N. Quammie</span>, reference librarian; <span class=\"name\">Anika Paris</span>, archivist; and <span class=\"name\">Shola Lynch</span>, curator. Finding aid published in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
sponsor: {"value"=>"An anonymous donor funded preliminary processing for this collection. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supported a research library-wide grant for the digitization, and funded the Schomburg for the description and production of the finding aid as part of The Next Century of Black Studies Project."}
date_start: 1941
keydate: 1941
date_end: 1979
date_inclusive_start: 1941
date_inclusive_end: 1979
extent_statement: 208 audio_recordings
prefercite: {"value"=>"Schomburg Public Programs at the Countee Cullen Library collection, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, The New York Public Library"}

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