Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue and the Colored Branches of the Louisville Free Public Library

Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue (1866-1935), a native of Farmville, Virginia, was the first African American to head a public library branch in the United States. From 1905 until 1935, Rev. Blue was the head of the African American branches of the Louisville Free Public Library (the Western Colored Branch and the Eastern Colored Branch). In 1922, he became the first African American librarian to give a speech before the American Library Association.

During the 1921 Joint District Meeting of Indiana and Kentucky Librarians and Trustees held at the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library, Rev. Blue and his assistant Rachel D. Harris gave attendees a tour of the library's Western Colored Branch. In 1927, Rev. Blue organized the First Negro Library Conference held March 15-18 at the Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia (the institute is now Hampton University; Rev. Blue was an alumnus). In 1928, Rev. Blue was one of several African American attendees at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Library Association held in West Baden, Indiana. He passed away on November 10, 1935.

See related posts: ALA History: 1928 Annual Conference of the American Library Association, West Baden, Indiana ; Librarian Education: Louisville Free Public Library ; and Rachel Davis Harris and the Colored Branches of the Louisville Free Public Library.

Update 04/29/2012:

In 1922, at the Annual Meeting of the American Library Association in Detroit, Michigan,  Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue presented a paper "Work with the Negro Roundtable". In his paper, Blue talks about the librarian training class he started for African Americans at the Western Colored Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. The training class was the first library training program offered in the South for African Americans, and was in operation from 1912 until 1931. Blue's paper was published in the September 1922 issue of The Southern Workman (v.51 , no. 9, p. 437-438).

Update 03/09/2013:

The following article by Reinette Jones contains a resolution written for Rev. Blue that was presented at the 2003 ALA Annual Conference:

Jones, Reinette F. "Spotlight: Reverend Thomas Fountain Blue." Kentucky Libraries 67.4 (2003): 6-7. Print.

You can also find the article here (cited as Library Faculty Publications 67):

http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1066&context=libraries_facpub

Rev. Blue's papers have been digitized and are now available online:

http://kdl.kyvl.org/catalog/xt7bcc0tr065/guide

Update 5/26/2014:

Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue is briefly mentioned in an I wrote an article on Lillian Haydon Childress Hall. The article was featured in the latest issue of Indiana Libraries (v. 33, no. 1). The link is below:

Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print."

Update 8/10/2014:

Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue gave an address at the opening ceremony of the Howard Branch of the Chattanooga Public Library in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The ceremony was held on October 11, 1913. The Howard Branch was established to provide library services to Chattanooga's African American residents.

See post: The Howard Branch of the Chattanooga Public Library (Chattanooga,Tennessee) 


Sources: Jones, Reinette. Library Service to African Americans in Kentucky, from the Reconstruction Era to the 1960s. Jefferson: McFarland, 2002. 51, 53-57, 77-78, 84, 88-89. Print.  ; Spradling, Mary Mace. "Black Librarians in Kentucky." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 41. Print. ; Battles, David M. The History of Public Library Access African Americans in the South or, Leaving Behind the Plow. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2008. 33-34, 44, 50, 54, 60, 70, 142. Print. ; Musmann, Klaus. "The Ugly Side of Librarianship: Segregation in Library Services from 1900 to 1950." Untold Stories: Civil Rights, Libraries, and Black Librarianship. Ed. John Mark Tucker. Champaign: Board of Trustees U of Illinois, 1998. 83-84, 86. Print. ; Jordan, Casper LeRoy. "African American Forerunners in Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Martha DeLoach. 2nd Ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 28-29. Print. ; Dawson, Alma. "Celebrating African American Librarians and Librarianship." Library Trends 49.1 (2000): 56. Print. ; Campbell, Lucy B. "Black Librarians in Virginia." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 124-125. Print. ; Jones, Reinette and Alonzon Hill. "Thomas Fountain Blue, Sr." Notable Kentucky African Americans Database: Librarians, Library Collections, Libraries. University of Kentucky Libraries, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. ; Sinnette, Elinor D. V. Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Black Bibliophile & Collector: A Biography. New York: New York Public Library, 1989. 154. Print. ; "Library Opened: Colored People of Louisville Looked After." Indianapolis Recorder 2 June 1906: 1. Print. ; "Free Libraries in Louisville: Kentucky City Leads Country Along This Line - How They Benefit the Public." Indianapolis Recorder 25 Jul. 1914: 1. Print. ; "West Baden, Ind." Indianapolis Recorder 9 June 1928: 7. Print. ; Curtis, Florence Rising. "Colored Librarians in Conference." Library Journal 52.8 (1927): 408. Print. ; Joint District Meeting Indiana and Kentucky Librarians and Trustees, Main Library, Thursday, March 10, 1921, Louisville, Kentucky. Program. [Louisville: Louisville Free Public Library, 1921]. Print. ; "Louisville." Library Occurrent 6.2 (1921): 80-81. Print. ; Brown, Beatrice S. Louisville's Historic Black Neighborhoods. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2012. 104. Print. ; Librarianship in Gilded Age America: An Anthology of Writings, 1868-1901. Ed. Leonard Schlup and Stephen H. Pascen. Jefferson: McFarland, 2009. 322. Print. ; Potter, Joan. African American Firsts: Famous, Little Known, and Unsung Triumphs of Blacks in America. New York: Kensington, 2009. 34. Print. ; Blue, Thomas F. "A Successful Library Experiment." Opportunity 2.20 (1924): 244-246. Print. ; "American Library Association." The Southern Workman 55.11 (1926):486. Print. ; Blue, Thomas F. "Work with the Negro Roundtable." The Southern Workman 51.9 (1922):437-438. Print. ; Jefferson, Julius C. “The Black Male Librarian: An Endangered Species.” The National Diversity in Libraries Conference. Louisville Marriott Downtown, Louisville, KY. 3 Oct. 2008. Pdf. ; Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print.

Willa Resnover and the Norwood Library (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Willa Resnover (1894-1978) was the earliest known African American librarian to work in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Although she had no formal library training, Ms. Resnover, a graduate of  Emmerich Manual High School and  Madame Blaker’s Teachers College (was also known as Teachers College of Indianapolis ; now the Butler University College of Education), served as the librarian for the Norwood Library, the first library in Indianapolis for African Americans. The library was housed inside the Norwood Boys’ Club on the city’s southeast side in the Norwood neighborhood. The Norwood Library was built in 1912 as a replacement for the Norwood School's  library collection which was lost in a fire in 1909 (the Norwood School was later known as Indianapolis Public School No. 64). Ada B. Harris, principal of the Norwood School, along with citizens and several organizations donated a total of 1,000 materials for the library's collection. Willa Resnover later married William Donaldson and taught school in Illinois in the cities of Carbondale and Cairo. She passed away in 1978.

*Note: The Norwood Library was an independent library. It was never part of the Indianapolis Public Library System.

See related posts: The Flanner Guild Deposit Station, Paul Laurence Dunbar Branch, Crispus Attucks Branch, and the George Washington Carver Branch of the Indianapolis Public Library (Indianapolis, Indiana) ; Lillian Sunshine Haydon Childress Hall: Pioneer in the History of Library Services to African Americans in Indiana ; and Hallie Beachem Brooks: Librarian, Professor, and Indiana Native.

Sources: “News of Indiana Libraries.” Library Occurrent 3.5 (1912): 96. Print. ; “Colored Library Opened in Norwood.” Indianapolis Recorder 28 Sept. 1912: 1. Print. ; “Norwood Library.” Indianapolis Recorder 6 May 1911: 1. Print. ; Ferguson, Earline Rae. “Indianapolis: Civic, Literary, and Mutual Aid Associations.” Organizing Black America: An Encyclopedia of African American Associations. Ed. Nina Mjagkij. New York: Garland, 2001. 235. Print. ; “Norwood.” Indianapolis Recorder 10 Aug. 1912: 6. Print. ; “Norwood School Now Public School No. 64.” Indianapolis Recorder 12 Oct. 1912: 2. Print. ; “Progress of the Norwood Schools.” Indianapolis Recorder 21 June 1913: 7. Print. ; “United States Census, 1920.” FamilySearch 4 Oct. 2011. Web. FamilySearch.org. ; Hine, Darlene Clark. Hine Sight: Black Women and the Re-Construction of American History. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1997. 111-112. Print. ; “Playmates of School 19 Enjoy Home-coming, Impromptu Program.” Indianapolis Recorder 25 Sept. 1943: 5. Print. ; “Ethical Culture.” Indianapolis Recorder 9 Dec. 1916: 3. Print. ; “Local Social Events.” Indianapolis Recorder 18 Nov. 1916: 2. Print.  ; “Local News: Personal Mention.” Indianapolis Recorder 1 Aug. 1914: 8. Print. ; “Local News: Personal Mention.” Indianapolis Recorder 4 Apr. 1914: 8. Print. ; Gibbs, Wilma L. “June Resnover Curry Collection, 1905-1921 [Finding Aid].” Indiana Historical Society, 2 Feb. 1995. Pdf File. Web. 3 Jan. 2012. ; Blair, Francis G. “Illinois School Directory, 1922-1923.” Circular (Illinois. Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction) 166 (1922): 71. Print.

John Edward Bruce: Ex-Slave, Bibliophile, Historian, and Journalist

John Edward Bruce (1856-1924), a former slave, was a noted bibliophile, historian, and journalist. In 1911, he co-founded the Negro Society for Historical Research with his friend and colleague Arthur Schomburg. Mr. Bruce attended Howard University, was a member of the Republican National Committee’s Literary Bureau, the Men’s Sunday Club, the Bethel Literary and Historical Association, the American Negro Academy, and once worked for The New York Times. In addition, he was a member of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), and founded newspapers such as The Argus Weekly (Washington, D.C.), The Sunday Item (Norfolk, Va.), The Republican (Norfolk, Va.), The Grit (Washington, D.C.), and The Weekly Standard (Yonkers, N.Y.). He was known in the literary world as “Bruce Grit” and wrote for such papers as The African Times and Orient Review, The Negro World, The Albany Argus, and The Buffalo Express. John Edward Bruce passed away in 1924 and is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Yonkers, New York.

See related posts:  Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, 1874-1938: Noted Bibliophile, Collector, Curator, and Scholar and The Bethel Literary and Historical Association.

Sources: Crowder, Ralph L. John Edward Bruce: Politician, Journalist, and Self-Trained Historian of the African Diaspora. New York: New York UP, 2004. Print. ; Seraile, William. Bruce Grit: The Black Nationalist Writings of John Edward Bruce. Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 2003. Print. ; Sinnette, Elinor D. V. Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Black Bibliophile & Collector: A Biography. New York : New York Public Library, 1989. 28-30, 36-37, 61, 73-74, 206. Print. ; Black Bibliophiles and Collectors: Preservers of Black History. Ed. Elinor D. V. Sinnette, W. Paul Coates, and Thomas C. Battle. Washington, D.C.: Howard UP, 1990. 10, 33-34, 38-39, 42, 47, 52, 69. Print. ; Anderson, Sarah A. "'The Place to Go': The 135th Street Branch Library and the Harlem Renaissance." Library Quarterly 73.4 (2003): 414. Print.

             

                                                                                                                                             

The Negro Branch of the Carnegie Library of Nashville (Nashville, Tennessee)

In 1916, the Carnegie Library of Nashville (now the Nashville Public Library) opened the Negro Branch of the Carnegie Library of Nashville.  It was built with a gift of $25,000 from Andrew Carnegie and remained in operation until 1949. Marion M. Hadley was the branch's first librarian. Other librarians to serve at the Negro Branch were Olivia Carr, Olivia Greenway, Hattie Watkins, and Ophelia Lockhart.

See related posts: The Free Colored Carnegie Branch of the Lawson McGhee Library (Knoxville, Tennessee) ; The Colored School Department of the Cossitt Library (Memphis, Tennessee); and The Howard Branch of the Chattanooga Public Library (Chattanooga, Tennessee).

Sources: Wynn, Lynda T. Leaders of Afro-American Nashville: The Negro Branch of the Carnegie Library. Nashville: Conference on Afro-American Culture and History, 1999. Print. ; Miller, Ernest I. "Library Service for Negroes in Tennessee." Journal of Negro Education 10.4 (1941): 636-637. Print. ; Hudson, Earline H. "Library Service to Blacks and Black Librarians in Tennessee." The Black Librarian in the Southeast: Reminiscences, Activities, Challenges. Ed. Annette L. Phinazee. Durham: NCCU School of Library Science, 1980. 105, 108. Print. ; "Photograph of the Negro Branch of the Carnegie Library, circa 1916." Nashville Public Library Digital Collection. Nashville Public Library, 2006. Web. 15 Jan. 2011. ; Malone, Cheryl Knott. "Quiet Pioneers: Black Women Public Librarians in the Segregated South." Vitae Scholasticae 19.1 (2000): 4, 11-13. Print. ; Malone, Cheryl Knott. "The Adult Collection at Nashville's Negro Public Library, 1915-1916." Libraries to the People: Histories of Outreach. Ed. Robert S. Freeman and David M. Hovde. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003. 148-156.Print.

                                                                                                                                                                         

The 51st Library of Camp Montford Point (Jacksonville, North Carolina )

The 51st Library of Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, North Carolina was a library that served the African American Marines that were stationed at the base during World War II. In the 1940s, Martha Darwin Roney Leathers, a 1935 graduate of the Hampton Institute Library School, was hired as an assistant librarian for the library (she once served as  the branch librarian for the Cherry Street Branch of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Public Library in Evansville, Indiana). The camp was renamed Camp Gilbert H. Johnson in 1974.

Sources: "Montford Point Library, 1945 - Marines Make Good Use of the Library after Routine Duty Hours (Photo)." Montford Point Marines, 1942-1949 - Images. Library of the Marine Corps and the Marine Corps Archives and Special Collections, 12 Jan. 2012. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. ; "51st Library - Montford Point Marines - Camp Life (Photo)." Montford Point Marines Loyalty and Service in the Face of Prejudice and Discrimination. Randall Library, University of North Carolina-Wilmington, 13 Dec. 2006. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. ; Grant, George, comp. "Roney, Marth D." The Directory of Ethnic Professionals in LIS. Winter Park: Four-G Publishers, 1991. 194. Print. ; A Directory of Negro Graduates of Accredited Library Schools, 1900-1936. Washington, D.C.: Columbia Civic Library Association, 1937. 20. Print. ; "Mrs. Leathers Becomes Top Black Administrator." Indianapolis Recorder 20 Mar. 1971: 3. Print. ; Tuohy, John. "Pioneering Marines Get Their Badge of Courage." Indianapolis Star 25 Oct. 2011: n.pag. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. ; An Act to Grant the Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 2011. Print.

Update 05/14/2012:

You can learn more about the story of the Montord Point Marines at:

http://www.lifeasamarine.com/marines/story/bhm-montford-point

Update 07/30/2012:

   On November 23, 2011, the United States Congress approved an act to grant the Montford Point Marines the Congressional Gold Medal:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ59/pdf/PLAW-112publ59.pdf

Update 08/12/2012:

   The Montford Point Marines are briefly mentioned in the article below:

Meadows, Bob and Kelsie Bonaparte. "10 Things We're Talking About." Essence 43.5 (2012): 94. Print.

Etka Braboy Gaskin and the Gary Public Library (Gary, Indiana)

Etka F. Braboy Gaskin (1888-1972), a native of Kokomo, Indiana and the daughter of Joseph A. and Alice McCoy Braboy, was the earliest known African American librarian in Gary, Indiana. She was hired as a librarian at the Alcott Branch of the Gary Public Library in 1924. In 1931, Ms. Gaskin began working as a librarian at the Roosevelt Branch of the Gary Public Library (now closed, this branch was located on the corner of 25th and Jackson Streets -- about a block and a half from the former home of the Jackson 5). She had previously worked at the Roosevelt Branch as an assistant before graduating from the Indiana Public Library Commission Summer School for Librarians in 1923. In 1928, Ms. Gaskin, Lillian Sunshine Hayden Childress Hall, Edward C. Williams, Rev. Thomas Fountain Blue, Rachel Davis Harris, Othella Roberts, Hallie Beachem Brooks, Rebecca M. Bond, and Elnora McIntyre Roy were among several noted African American attendees at the American Library Association's 50th Annual Conference held in West Baden, Indiana. Ms. Gaskin passed away in 1972 in Gary, Indiana.

See related posts: ALA History: 1928 Annual Conference of the American Library Association, West Baden, Indiana ; Bernice Appleton Wilder: First African American Director of the Gary Public Library (Gary, Indiana) ; and Dharathula Millender: Librarian, Author, and Historian - One of Indiana's Own.

Update 10/28/2012:

Two branches of the Gary Public Library (Gary, Indiana), the Carter G. Woodson Branch and the W.E.B. Dubois Branch, are featured in George Grant's book In Honor of... : Libraries Named for African Americans.  The book is published by Grant House Publishers.

Update 11/09/2012:

Additional articles about Ms. Gaskin, the Roosevelt Branch, and the Alcott Branch of the Gary Public Library:

"Roosevelt Branch Library." Gary Library Bulletin 22.3 (1965): 2. Print.
"History of the Alcott Branch Library." Gary Library Bulletin 22.5 (1965): 2. Print.

Update 2/15/2013:

Etka Braboy Gaskin was one of three African American females to graduate in the 1904 Class of Kokomo High School in Kokomo, Indiana. In July 1909, she was one of five African American women selected by the Indianapolis Recorder to participate in a 12-day vacation trip to Niagra Falls. Ms. Gaskin later wrote about her trip in an article, "A Trip to Niagra Falls", which appeared in the August 28, 1909 issue of the Indianapolis Recorder. She later married Edward R. Gaskin, also from Kokomo, and the couple settled in Gary, Indiana.

Etka Braboy Gaskin's father, Joseph Albert Braboy (also known as J.A. Braboy), was a native of Franklin County, Indiana. Mr. Braboy was a United States Civil War veteran, having enlisted in the Union Army at the age of seventeen and assigned to the 28th Regiment United States Colored Troops. After his service with the army ended, Mr. Braboy became a barber, a three-term member of the Kokomo City Council, and the owner of a furniture and music store in Kokomo, Indiana. In January 1879, he married Alice McCoy. 

Ms. Gaskin's brother, Otis Burgess Braboy (1882-1955), was a 1901 graduate of Kokomo High School. He worked as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service. In 1918, he married Vashti McDonald. Otis Braboy later settled in Toledo, Ohio.

Update 5/18/2014:

Etka Braboy Gaskin is briefly mentioned in an I wrote an article on Lillian Haydon Childress Hall. The article was featured in the latest issue of Indiana Libraries (v. 33, no. 1). The link is below:

Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print."

Sources: "West Baden, Ind." Indianapolis Recorder 9 June 1928: 7. Print. ; Peters, Orpha Maud. The Gary Public Library: 1907-1944. Gary: Gary Public Library, 1945. 21, 53. Print. ; "New Library Buildings." Library Occurrent 6.10 (1923): 401. Print. ; "Summer School Students 1923." Library Occurrent 6.11 (1923): 411-412. Print. ; "In Local Society: Librarians in City." Indianapolis Recorder 11 Dec. 1926: 5. Print. ; "Free Vacation Trip, 12 Days Sightseeing for the Five Most Popular Colored Women: The Recorder's Second Popular Contest Closes and Names of Winners Announced." Indianapolis Recorder 24 July 1909: 1. Print. ; "Free Vacation Trip." Indianapolis Recorder 7 Aug. 1909: 1. Print. ; Braboy, Etka F. "A Trip to Niagra Falls." Indianapolis Recorder 28 Aug. 1909: 1-2. Print. ; "Roosevelt Branch Library." Gary Library Bulletin 22.3 (1965): 2. Print. ; "History of the Alcott Branch Library." Gary Library Bulletin 22.5 (1965): 2. Print. ; "Etka Gaskin." Social Security Death Index. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2011.  ; "Etka Gaskin." United States Census, 1920. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. ; "Etka Gaskin." United States Census, 1930. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. ; Fiftieth Annual Meeting Advance Attendance Register, May 27-June 2, 1928, West Baden, Indiana. [Chicago]: American Library Association, 1928. 4, 14. Print. ; "Colored Circles." The Kokomo Daily Tribune 16 Nov. 1918: 4. Print. ; "Summer School Students 1923." Report of the Public Library Commission of the State of Indiana for the Year Ending September 30, 1923. Indianapolis: Wm. B. Buford, Contractor for State Printing and Binding, 1924. 6. Print. ; "Braboy, Eletka [i.e., Etka]." Kokomo City Directory and Howard Co. Gazetteer For the Years 1910-1911. Anderson, Ind.: Union Directory Co., 1910. 59. Print. ; Thornbrough, Emma Lou. The Negro in Indiana: A Study of a Minority. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1957. 314, 362. Print. ; "City and Society." The Freeman (Indianapolis, Ind.) 18 Sept. 1909: 8. Print. ; "Annual Banquet of I.U. Graduates." Indianapolis Recorder 11 June 1910: 1. Print. ; "Otis B. Braboy." Kokomo Tribune 23 Nov. 1955: 2. Print. ; "1904." Sargasso 1905. Kokomo, Ind.: Kokomo High School, 1905. 129. Print. ; "Kokomo High School Alumni: 1875-1905." INGenWeb. INGenWeb Project, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. ; "J.A. Braboy." United States Census, 1910. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013; "Joseph A. Braboy." Indiana Marriages, 1789-1992. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. ; "Edward Gaskin." United States Census, 1940. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. ; "Edward R. Gaskin." United States Census, 1900. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. ; "Edward Gaskin." United States Census, 1880. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. ; "Otis B. Braboy." United States Census, 1930. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. ; "Otis B. Braboy." United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. ; "Otis Burgess Braboy." Indiana Marriages, 1789-1992. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. ; "Edward R. Gaskin." Kokomo Tribune 9 Sept. 1946: 7. Print. ; "Our Class." Sargasso 1901. Kokomo, Ind.: Kokomo High School, 1902. 36. Print. ; "Braboy, Otis, Mail Agent." Kokomo City Directory and Howard Co. Gazetteer For the Years 1910-1911. Anderson, Ind.: Union Directory Co., 1910. 59. Print. ; "Senior Class of '01." Sargasso 1901. Kokomo, Ind.: Kokomo High School, 1902. 36. Print. ; "Braboy, J.A. (Alice M.), Pianos, Organs, Sewing Machines, Etc." Kokomo City Directory and Howard Co. Gazetteer For the Years 1910-1911. Anderson, Ind.: Union Directory Co., 1910. 59. Print. ; "Joseph Braboy." United States, Civil War Service Records of Union Colored Troops, 1863-1865. FamilySearch.org, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2013. ; Millender, Dharathula. Gary's Central Business Community. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2003. 47. Print. ; Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print.

Miriam Matthews and the Los Angeles Public Library

Miriam Matthews (1905-2003), a native of Pensacola, Florida, was the first African American librarian to work for the Los Angeles Public Library. She once served as the branch librarian for the Helen Hunt Jackson Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (the branch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987). Ms. Matthews received her Certificate of Librarianship from the University of California in 1927. She worked at the Los Angeles Public Library from 1927 until her retirement in 1960. Ms. Matthews passed away in 2003 at the age of 97. 

See related post: The Mayme A. Clayton Library Museum and Cultural Center (MCL).

Sources: Jordan, Casper Leroy, and Josey, E.J. "A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Marva L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 6. Print. ; Wilkin, Binnie Tate. "Tribute to Miriam Matthews: First Trained African American Librarian in California." African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Ed. Binnie Tate Wilkin. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2006. 1-7. Print. ; Oliver, Myrna. "Miriam Matthews, 97; Pioneering L.A. Librarian Was Expert in Black History." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2003. Web. 4 Dec. 2010. ; Kindig, Jessie. "Miriam Matthews." BlackPast.Org. Black Past, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2010. ; A Directory of Negro Graduates of Accredited Library Schools, 1900-1936. Washington: Columbia Civic Library Association, 1937. 17. Print. ; "Miriam Mathews [i.e., Matthews], Colored Library Head, on Air." Indianapolis Recorder 6 Apr. 1930: 3. Print.