Booklists for Dunbar Branch, MS1396 Folder 1
Dublin Core
Title
Booklists for Dunbar Branch, MS1396 Folder 1
Subject
libraries--book purchasing
libraries--segregation
Jones Memorial Library--Dunbar Branch (Lynchburg, Va.)
library history
Description
Manuscript Collection 1396 is the Dunbar High School Library Papers. Four folders are included in this collection.
The papers are from the Dunbar Branch of the Jones Memorial Library. The Dunbar Branch was opened in 1924 at the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, a segregated school serving African American students in Lynchburg during the Jim Crow era.
The Dunbar Branch was established by Jane Maud Campbell, director of the Jones Memorial Library. Campbell requested assistance from the Louisville Free Public Library, which was a leader in training African American librarians, to get the branch established. Librarian Rachel Davis Harris traveled from Louisville to Lynchburg to establish the branch and help train Anne Spencer, the Dunbar Branch's first permanent librarian. Spencer served as librarian at the branch from 1924 until 1945.
Included in Folder 1 are a variety of lists published by the Louisville Free Public Library to aid librarians in purchasing books for collections serving African Americans. Also included in the folder are two handwritten lists with additional titles; these lists may have been compiled by Jones Memorial Library staff.
Of note is a 24 page typewritten list compiled by Reverend Thomas Blue and Rachel Harris of the Louisville Free Public Library titled "A List of Books Selected From Titles in the Western Colored Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library Recommended for First Purchase." This list includes marks suggesting that staff from Jones Memorial Library intended to purchase particular titles, with handwritten numbers suggesting the quantity of each title ordered. It is possible that these titles were ordered for use at the Dunbar Branch in Lynchburg.
The papers are from the Dunbar Branch of the Jones Memorial Library. The Dunbar Branch was opened in 1924 at the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, a segregated school serving African American students in Lynchburg during the Jim Crow era.
The Dunbar Branch was established by Jane Maud Campbell, director of the Jones Memorial Library. Campbell requested assistance from the Louisville Free Public Library, which was a leader in training African American librarians, to get the branch established. Librarian Rachel Davis Harris traveled from Louisville to Lynchburg to establish the branch and help train Anne Spencer, the Dunbar Branch's first permanent librarian. Spencer served as librarian at the branch from 1924 until 1945.
Included in Folder 1 are a variety of lists published by the Louisville Free Public Library to aid librarians in purchasing books for collections serving African Americans. Also included in the folder are two handwritten lists with additional titles; these lists may have been compiled by Jones Memorial Library staff.
Of note is a 24 page typewritten list compiled by Reverend Thomas Blue and Rachel Harris of the Louisville Free Public Library titled "A List of Books Selected From Titles in the Western Colored Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library Recommended for First Purchase." This list includes marks suggesting that staff from Jones Memorial Library intended to purchase particular titles, with handwritten numbers suggesting the quantity of each title ordered. It is possible that these titles were ordered for use at the Dunbar Branch in Lynchburg.
Creator
George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Va.)
Louisville Free Public Library (Louisville, Ky.)
Blue, Thomas F.
Harris, Rachel Davis
Associated Publishers, Inc.
Unknown creator
Source
Jones Memorial Library Manuscript Collection 1396, Folder 1
Publisher
George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Va.)
Date
1910-1930
Rights
George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Va.)
Items may be protected under copyright
Relation
MS1396FA
Format
pdf
Language
English
Identifier
JMLMS1396.Folder1
Collection
Citation
George M. Jones Memorial Library (Lynchburg, Va.) et al., “Booklists for Dunbar Branch, MS1396 Folder 1,” Digital Collections, accessed April 27, 2024, https://digitaljones.omeka.net/items/show/517.