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Creator
Johnson, Glenderlyn
Call number
Sc MG 992
Physical description
4.37 linear feet (11 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
[Item], Black Books Plus records, Sc MG 992, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
Sponsor
Next Century of Black Studies grant funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Repository
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Black Books Plus was a bookstore located in Manhattan that operated from 1989 to 1999. It was owned and operated by Glenderlyn Johnson, a former Schomburg Center librarian, and was one of the few Black-owned bookstores in New York City. The bookstore hosted around 200 book signings with notable and sometimes lesser known Black authors. The Black Books Plus records document the bookstore's event planning, correspondence, stock inventory, and other administrative records.

Biographical/historical information

Black Books Plus was a bookstore located in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that operated from 1989 to 1999. The store was owned and operated by Glenderlyn Johnson (1942-), a former Schomburg Center librarian, and was one of the few Black-owned bookstores in the city. It hosted about 200 book signings and panel events in collaboration with Black authors, artists, scholars, and organizations. The bookstore also sold greeting cards, calendars, and stationery items.

Johnson started at the Schomburg Center in 1968 as a library technical assistant. In the late 1970s, she transitioned into a librarian role after earning a master of art in anthropology degree from Columbia University and a master of library science degree from Pratt Institute. She worked at the Schomburg Center for over twenty years until her departure in 1989.

After her time at the Schomburg Center, Johnson briefly taught and worked as a school librarian at junior and senior high schools. She later opened the Black Books Plus bookstore on West 94th Street and Amsterdam Avenue on the Upper West Side after completing a bookselling course through the American Booksellers Association. Black Books Plus closed in 1999.

Scope and arrangement

The Black Books Plus records are comprised of the bookstore's press material, correspondence, handwritten notes, invitations, invoices and other ephemera related to Black Books Plus bookstore and its events.

Glenderlyn Johnson organized the records into folders and kept handwritten notes on the folders themselves to record details such as event turnout, inventory orders, and publicity contacts.

The event files include correspondence; press kits; book review articles; headshots; book jackets; and flyers related to Black Books Plus events. The files titled by subject name mostly represent authors who have had book signings at Black Books Plus, but also include names of publicists, Johnson's colleagues, and other relevant figures.

The business files are composed of invoices, product inventory, correspondence, press coverage, and flyers.

Arrangement

Johnson kept handwritten notes on many of her file folders so her original folders were kept with the records. The contents of each folder and its original folder were separated and rehoused into new folders, split into two files: 1/2 and 2/2 arranged alphabetically. The records are split into two sections: events and business records.

The event files are first arranged alphabetically by author or correspondent last name, followed by a list of files arranged alphabetically by event title; organization title; or subject title related to event planning. The business records are arranged alphabetically and contain invoices, product inventory, correspondence, press coverage, and flyers. These file titles are based on Johnson's original folder titles.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

NYPL purchased this collection from Glenderlyn Johnson in 2023.

Processing information

Processed by Denise Mantey in 2024.

Using the collection

Location

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor