Named in honor of the Puerto Rican-born collector-donor Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, this branch of the NYPL first developed during the
Harlem Renaissance, in 1926. The Collection contains literally over a million items--books, tapes, artifacts, photographs and more--comprise this multicultural, multimedia collection. It also contains some extremely precious and treasured artifacts that may not be allowed to be handled.
The in-house displays span from posters that oppose racial segregation to the personal correspondence of civil rights activist Malcolm X, and from 19th-century African-American newspapers to weaponry and bronze decorations from Western Africa. You may find the architecture unsightly and the interior a bit disorienting, but this local landmark is an important collection for scholars, school children and everyone in between.
