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North Carolina Negro Library Association

The North Carolina Negro Library Association (NCNLA) was a professional organization for North Carolina's black librarians and library workers.[1] It was the first black library association in the United States and the first black chapter in the American Library Association.[2] It was headquartered in Durham, North Carolina at the North Carolina College for Negroes beginning in 1942.[1]: 28 

North Carolina Negro Library Association
FormationApril 20, 1934; 90 years ago (1934-04-20)
Founded atRaleigh, North Carolina
DissolvedNovember 5, 1954; 70 years ago (1954-11-05)
Parent organization
American Library Association

It was founded on April 20–21, 1934, at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, with Mollie Huston Lee and A. P. Marshall two of the original founders.[3][4] At the time, black librarians could not join the NCLA because of racial segregation, however white librarians could join NCNLA and some did.[1]: 30  NCNLA joined the American Library Association as a chapter on February 1, 1943.[1]: 28 

NCNLA published a mimeographed newsletter, The LIBRARIAN, beginning on November 17, 1937.[1]: 26  It also published an organizational handbook in 1940 and began publication of LIBRARY SERVICE REVIEW in 1948.[1]: 30 

Merge with NCLA

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NCNLA began talks of merging with NCLA in 1948 and the first meeting of a joint committee of the NCLA and NCNLA on the merger of the two organizations was held March 11, 1950.[1]: 31  The membership of NCNLA were invited guests to an NCLA annual meeting on April 26–27, 1951 and over 85 black librarians attended.[1]: 31 

The American Library Association made a decision to only allow one library association chapter per state, and required that any state chapter be integrated.[2] As a result, NCLA agreed to admit black members in 1954—voting 255 yeses to 107 nos.[5][1]: 35  The two associations merged in 1955 after the NCNLA voted in the recommendations of the Committee on Redesignation at their annual meeting on November 5–6, 1954 under the guidance of Constance Hill Marteena.[6][1]: 36 

NCNLA had their last official meeting as an independent group on November 4–5, 1955 in Charlotte, North Carolina.[7] The NCLA elected their first black president, Dr. Annette Phinazee, in 1975.[8] Dr. Phinazee commented on her presidency,

In other states... the orderly process of integration involved a merger of associations like these. The incumbent president of the larger white associations almost invariably became president of the newly-formed group, with the black president succeeding in the next year. My presidency is 20 years late. The office should have gone first to one of those people who worked so hard, against obstacles the white members of the NCLA have never known.[8]

Conferences

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Date Location Notable Speakers
April 20–21, 1934 Shaw University
April 5–6, 1935 St. Augustine's
April 3–4, 1936 Winston-Salem Teacher's College Arthur Schomburg
April 2–3, 1937 Fayetteville State Normal School Alain LeRoy Locke
April 1–2, 1938 North Carolina College for Negroes James E. Shepard
March 31-April 1, 1939 Livingstone College Rufus Early Clement
April 5–6, 1940 Rocky Mount, NC
October 24–25, 1941 Johnson C. Smith University
February 4–5, 1944 Shaw University
October 27–28, 1944 Arna Bontemps, Charlotte Hawkins Brown
November 1–2, 1946 Winston-Salem Teacher's College Rayford Logan
November 1, 1947 Williston Industrial School Shirley Graham
November 5–6, 1948 William Penn High School Marion Vera Cuthbert
November 4–5, 1949 West Charlotte High School Robert Prentiss Daniel
November 3–4, 1950 Booker T. Washington High School Rufus Early Clement
November 2–3, 1951 North Carolina College for Negroes Rose Browne
November 7, 1952 Lincoln Junior High School
November 6–7, 1953 Elizabeth City State Teachers College
November 5–6, 1954 Elvie Street School John Hope Franklin
November 4–5, 1955 West Charlotte High School

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lee, Mollie Huston (Winter 1977). "North Carolina Negro Library Association". North Carolina Libraries. 35 (1): 13–33.
  2. ^ a b Wiegand, Wayne A. (2017). ""Any Ideas?": The American Library Association and the Desegregation of Public Libraries in the American South". Libraries: Culture, History, and Society. 1 (1). The Pennsylvania State University Press: 1. doi:10.5325/libraries.1.1.0001. ISSN 2473-0343.
  3. ^ Dawson, Alma (Summer 2000). McCook, Kathleen de la Peña (ed.). "Celebrating African-American Librarians and Librarianship" (PDF). Library Trends. 49 (1): 49–87. ISSN 0024-2594. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. ^ Speller, Benjamin F. 1996. "Mollie Huston Lee." Notable American Women, Volume 2. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc.
  5. ^ Fox, Charlesanna (1955). "President's Corner". North Carolina Libraries. 13 (2): 70.
  6. ^ Smith, J.C.; Phelps, S. (1992). Notable Black American Women. Black American Women Series. Gale Research. p. 434. ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  7. ^ "Library Group Opens Meeting". The Charlotte News. Charlotte, NC. November 3, 1955. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b "NCCU Library Dean heads NC Library Organization". The Carolina Times. Vol. 53, no. 41. Durham, NC. November 8, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 1 February 2020.


 

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