James Brown African American Room

About:

James Brown dedicated his professional life to curating and expanding the Library’s collection of resources on the African American experience. Mr. Brown was a librarian here at the Library for 29 years, and held the titles of principal librarian and head of the African-American Room. After his untimely death at the age of 53, in 1991, the African American Room was renamed in his honor. Mr. Brown was especially committed to urging Newark youth to pursue education and to understand the importance of the Library’s role in their academic growth.

The James Brown African American Room has a collection that is principally for browsing and provides cross-disciplinary access to materials about African American life, history, and culture. Titles of current interest, classics, and standard reference sources are available. Reference, readers’ advisory, and programs are offered. Past programs have included the James Brown Memorial Lecture Series, the Lorraine Hansberry Lecture Series, Malcolm X Remembered, the W.E.B. Du Bois Reading Circle and the Frances E.W. Harper Literary Society. Each year the Library welcomes the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture and the Black History Celebration.