Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture , New York NY

Dedicated to collecting, preserving and providing access to resources documenting the history and experiences of peoples of African descent throughout the world, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is located in the heart of Harlem and within the 135th branch of the New York Public Library. The center is named after Arthur Schomburg, a Puerto Rican born Black scholar and avid collector of materials on Africa and its Diaspora, who in 1926 donated his personal collection of books, manuscripts, photographs, paintings and  other documents to what was then known as the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints of the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Libriary. Shomburg served as curator from 1932 until his death in 1938. Renamed in his honor in 1940, the collection has grown steady through the years.

Today, the Schomburg Center contains over 5,000,000 items and provides services and programs for constituents from the United States and abroad. The Center’s collections include art objects, audio and video tapes, books, manuscripts, motion picture films, newspapers, periodicals, photographs, prints, recorded music discs and sheet music.

Address: 515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037
Phone: 212/491-2200
Website: www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html
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