Constance Hill Marteena, a 1933 graduate of the Hampton Institute Library School, was president of the North Carolina Negro Library Association from 1952 until 1954 (note: Hampton Institute is now Hampton University). She received her master's degree in library science from the University of Chicago in 1946.
Born August 24, 1897 in Richmond, Virginia, Ms. Marteena was the daughter of Reubin and Irene Hill, and the wife of Jerald Milton Marteena (Mr. Marteena once served as Dean of Engineering at North Carolina A & T State University; Marteena Hall, located on the university's campus, is named for him).
In addition, Ms. Marteena was a librarian at North Carolina A & T State University (1929-1937) and at Bennett College (1937-1967), both in Greensboro, North Carolina. She also served on the editorial board of Library Service Review, the bulletin of the North Carolina Negro Library Association. Ms. Marteena was an author as well:
Marteena, Constance Hill. The Lengthening Shadow of a Woman: A Biography of Charlotte Hawkins Brown. Hicksville: Exposition, 1977. Print.
Marteena, Constance H. "Teaching the Student to Help Himself." Library Service Review 1.1 (1948): 8-10. Print.
Marteena, Constance H. A Bibliographic Technique Illustrated in the Compilation of a Selective Guide to the Literature of Afro-American Women of Achievement. Chicago: University of Chicago, Graduate School, 1946. Print.
In 1934, Ms. Marteena became one of six charter members of the Beta Iota Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority. She passed away on December 29, 1978.
The Thomas F. Holgate Library of Bennett College has a digital collection relating to Ms. Marteena: http://holgatedigitallibrary.bennett.edu/collections/
Update 12/09/2012:
See related post: North Carolina Negro Library Association.
Sources: Lee, Mollie Huston. "North Carolina Negro Library Association, 1935-54." Library Review 2 (1955): 10-32. Print. ; "Constance Marteena." U.S. Social Security Death Index. FamilySearch.org, n.d.Web. 14 Feb. 2012. ; "Constance Marteena." North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994. FamilySearch.org., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. ; Speller, Benjamin F. and James R. Jarrell. "Profiles of Pioneers: Selected North Carolina Black Librarians." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 81-82. Print. ; Speller, Benjamin F. "Constance Hill Marteena." Notable Black American Women. Ed. Jessie Carney Smith. Book II. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996. 433-434. Print. ; A Directory of Negro Graduates of Accredited Library Schools, 1900-1936. Washington, D.C.: Columbia Civic Library Association, 1937. 17. Print. ; "Our Contributors." Library Service Review 1.2 (1948): 5. Print. ; "Editorial Board." Library Service Review 1.1 (1948): [3]. Print. ; "Beta Iota Omega Chapter History." Beta Iota Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Charted in 1934 - Greensboro, North Carolina. betaiotaomega.org, 2012. Web. 5 Nov. 2012. ; "Jerald Marteena." U.S. Social Security Death Index. FamilySearch.org, n.d.Web. 09 Dec. 2012. ; "Jerald Milton Marteena." North Carolina Deaths, 1931-1994. FamilySearch.org., n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2012. ; Marteena, Constance H. "Teaching the Student to Help Himself." Library Service Review 1.1 (1948): 8-10. Print. ; Moore, Richard. "Mrs. Marteena Leaves $120, 371 to A&T Unit." The Afro-American (Baltimore, Md.) 23 Aug. 1980: 1. Print.
Virginia Lacy Jones (1912-1984), a 1936 graduate
of the Hampton Institute Library School, was the second dean of the library
school at Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta University). She was also the
second African American to earn a Ph.D. in library science, which she earned
from the University of Chicago. For two years, Ms. Jones served as an editorial
consultant for Library Journal. Before coming to Atlanta University, Ms.
Jones was a librarian at the Louisville Municipal College for Negroes (now
Simmons College of Kentucky), Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), and
Prairie View State College (now Prairie View A&M University).
Update 07/07/2012:
Eliza Atkins Gleason was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in library science and was the first dean of the library school at Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta University). Like Jones, Gleason earned her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago.
See related posts: Librarian Education: Eliza Atkins Gleason, First African American to Earn PhD in Library Science and Annette Hoage Phinazee: Dean, Professor, Author, and Librarian.
Sources: Jones, Virginia Lacy. "A Dean's Career." The Black Librarian in America. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1970. 19-42. Print. ; "Top Negro Librarians Air Views on Library Segregation." Jet 20.5 (1961): 24-25. Print. ; Jordan, Casper and E.J. Josey. "A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Marva L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 7. Print. ; Woodson, Almeta Gould. "Fifty Years of Service: A Chronological History of the School of Library Service Atlanta University, 1941-1979; the School of Library and Information Studies Atlanta University, 1979-1989; the School of Library and Information Studies, Clark Atlanta University, 1989-1991." Georgia Librarian 28.3 (1991): 71-77. Print. ; Totten, Herman L. "Southeastern Black Educators." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 206. Print. ; Jordan, Casper Leroy. "The Multifaceted Life of Virginia Lacy Jones." The Black Librarian in America Revisited. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1994. 75-86. Print. ; McPheeters, Annie L. Library Service in Black and White: Some Personal Recollections, 1921-1980. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1988. 9-10, 131. Print. ; "Atlanta University Center Exhibition Hall Named for Dr. Virginia Lacy Jones." Jet 68.16 (1985): 19. Print. ; "College and School News." Crisis 63.7 (1956): 436. Print. ; "College and School News." Crisis 50.11 (1943): 323. Print. ; "Segregation in Libraries." Crisis 68.6 (1961): 342-343. Print. ; "College and School News." Crisis 71.10 (1969): 701. Print. ; A Directory of Negro Graduates of Accredited Library Schools, 1900-1936. Washington: Columbia Civic Library Association, 1937. 15. Print. ; Josey, E.J. "Foreword." Educating Black Librarians: Papers from the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the School of Library and Information Sciences, North Carolina Central University. Ed. Benjamin F. Speller, Jr. Jefferson: McFarland, 1991. xi. Print. ; "Receives Doctorate at University of Chicago." Indianapolis Recorder 6 Oct. 1945: 5. Print. ; Freightman, Connie Green. "Historically Black College Closes Its Library Studies Program." The Crisis 112.1 (2005): 10. Print.
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