The Black Library was established in 1972 at the request of Concerned Black Students for a separate collection of books and other materials relating to Black culture. African-American periodicals, as well as many books by and about African-Americans, are located in an alcove on the south side of the second floor of Burling Library. Among the many interesting materials to be found in this alcove is the collection of slave narratives entitled The American Slave: A Composite Autobiography. This is a forty-two volume series collected and transcribed by members of the Federal Writers Project during the Great Depression. (Black Library E444 .A45 and E441 .A58).
The Black Library is a selection of materials from the general library collection. It contains novels and poetry by African-American authors, documents, statistics, biographies, and other research material related to the study of African Americans in all aspects ofAfrican-American culture and history. The periodical collection and some portions of the monograph collection are permanently housed in the Black Library, while other materials cycle back into the larger collection in Burling Library. All material shelved in the Black Library will be identified in the online catalog.
