In Historic, Fraught Birmingham, Black Librarians Gather for Seventh National Conference
By Kathleen E. Bethel, African American Studies Librarian, Northwestern University Library Sep 3, 2010In the white hot heat of the "Magic City" of Birmingham, AL, a city fraught with memories of the Civil Rights movement, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) held its 7th National Conference of African American Librarians (NCAAL), August 4-8, 2010.
Titled Culture Keepers VII: Bridging the Divide with Information Access, Activism and Advocacy, the gathering drew nearly 400 participants, fewer than the attendance in 2002 (LJ coverage) and 2007 (LJ coverage) but more than was expected, given the economy.
| At the opening (l.-r.), conference Co-Chair Wanda K. Brown, BCALA President Jos Holman, ALA Immediate Past President Camila Alire, conference Co-Chair Roberta Webb, and ALA Executive Director Keith Fiels. Photo by Alma Ramos-McDermott |
From the opening session featuring Terrence Roberts, a member of the Little Rock Nine who desegregated Arkansas' Central High School in 1957, to the closing breakfast with Roland S. Martin, journalist and commentator for TV One Cable Network, the gathering was comfortable, rejuvenating, and powerful for participants.
Setting the tone, the George Washington Carver High School Jazz Choir began the opening session with the traditional spiritual "I'm on my way to freedom land."
Addressing the theme
Area library workers and registrants attended a preconference career presentation on "Culture Keepers: Who Are They? What Do They Do? and How You Can Become One." Veteran librarians who discussed career opportunities offered optimism for the future of African American librarianship, as several non-MLS library workers in attendance proclaimed their intent to attend library school. Participants indicated the ongoing need for a support system of established librarians.
It was appropriate to the conference theme that Roberts delivered the John Tyson Lecture, as the late Dr. Tyson, a past president of the BCALA, was the initial advocate for a BCALA national conference. Roberts, a former professor of psychology and the CEO of a management-consulting firm, spoke with humor and depth on community social responsibility and tolerance. He encouraged librarians to also take the time to correct and guide the younger generation.
That evening's film screenings featured The Hollywood Librarian, a look at librarians through film; Inside Buffalo, the story of the segregated World War II 92nd "Buffalo Soldiers" Division; and Rivers of Change, about five unheralded women involved in the Montgomery bus boycott.
Writers and beyond
There were numerous exhibitors and writers to engage with in person; among the popular authors were Gwynne Forster, Yolanda Joe, Haki Madhubuti, and Jewell Parker Rhodes.
| Author Ray Charles Robinson signs a copy of You Don't Know Me: Reflections of My Father, Ray Charles, for Dora Sims, president of the Friends of the Birmingham Public Library. Photo by Pamela Goodes, Co-Chair, NCAAL Publicity Committee |
Conference attendees also could go 2.0: The "Beyond the Book" session explored how social networking can enhance Black literature for youth. Attendees toured libraries and universities in Second Life.
Focus on black history
Among the programs, "Libraries and the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route" encouraged librarians to welcome cyclists along the 2,000 mile route from Mobile, AL, to Owen Sound, Canada. "Putting the 'B' Back into Black History Month Programs" focused on rethinking and invigorating the annual celebrations, such as by using Black History content in gaming.
In a session titled "Hidden in Plain View," Library of Congress specialists elaborated on various African American resources in their Geography & Map, Law Library, Music, Photography, Prints & Photographs, and Rare Book & Special Collections divisions.
Representatives of the host Birmingham Public Library (BPL) showcased online access to the library's hidden treasures and discussed the development of an African American marriage database.
Much progress has been made on digitization of unique material. Among the projects presented were the University of Mississippi's "Seeing Red: Anti-Communism in Mississippi," the University System of Georgia's "Civil Rights Digital Library" and Atlanta University Center's "Finding a Way: The Black Family's Struggle for Education." To bring such content online, librarians must address Issues like time management, staff training, collection prioritization, technical resources, work space and support for digital projects within a library's operations.
Meeting the community
Presenters from Chicago Public Library's Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American Literature and History explained how they've formed partnerships to sustain the collection. Vivian G. Harsh Society members-citizens and scholars concerned about the future of the collection-donate materials, time, and money.
The Mapping the Stacks Project, inspired by a University of Chicago faculty member frustrated by the backlog of unprocessed collections, has brought graduate students trained in archival processing materials to Harsh. The Harsh Collection is a member of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC), an association of libraries, universities, and other archival institutions with major holdings of materials that document Chicago's African American community.
A few library systems have standalone libraries devoted to black culture, combining African American research collections, archival activities, performance spaces, library services, and community engagement. In "Preserving Our Culture," directors from the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library of the Denver Public Library, the African American Research Library and Cultural Center of the Broward County Library, FL, and the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History of the Atlanta-Fulton County Public Library, GA, shared the missions, programs and services of their collections.
Archival processing and digitization take precedence at these institutions. While specializing in African Americana, each collection has a strong regional focus and also attracts international scholars.
A Civil Rights setting
| Photo by Alma Ramos- McDermott |
Seated in historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church for a tour, attendees were visibly moved to be in the sanctuary were four little girls were killed by a bomb explosion on September 15, 1963. They sat in rapt attention when Georgia Morgan Blair described her part in the Children's Crusade, a march by hundreds of school students in May 1963 that was stopped by mass arrests, fire hoses and police dogs. This eyewitness account of incarceration, the events and horrid conditions that quickly forced passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act was chilling.
Attendees also spent reflective moments across the street at the Civil Rights Institute and while touring Kelly Ingram Park, the central staging ground for large-scale demonstrations.
For NCAAL's visit to the Birmingham Museum of Art., the museum hosted an ice cream social and the opportunity to view the exhibit "Pattern, Costume and Ornament in African and African-American Art." Many were brave enough to venture into the evening heat for Birmingham Noir, a nighttime walking tour of downtown historic sites notorious for murder mysteries, madams, brothels, and riots.
At the welcome reception held at the Birmingham Public Library, with library staff dressed in black with glittering bowler hats, BCALA was entertained by the Birmingham Heritage Band. The evening's agenda for "A Nostalgic Remembrance of Birmingham," featured historic photos from the library's archives printed on a fan.
Several members of the Birmingham Black Barons (1920-1960) Negro Leagues team were in attendance. The BPL has a well-received exhibit honoring these baseball players, including their images on library READ posters. Also on display were quilts by Tinnie Pettway, of Gee's Bend fame.
| Photo by Alma Ramos- McDermott |
BPL's own staff performing group, The Reflections, performed in the library's Richard Arrington Auditorium, renamed the Birmingham Cotton Club for the occasion.
In answer to the question, "Does your library have a band?" several attendees replied, "We will when I get back!"
Conference honors, leaders
Irene Owens, dean of the School of Library Science at the North Carolina Central University, Durham, was surprised at the President's Gala and Awards Ceremony with the DEMCO/BCALA Award for Excellence in Librarianship. Noted for recruiting more African American students, Owens was cheered by a cadre of students she brought to the conference.
BCALA President Jos N. Holman challenged himself and BCALA to be better activists and advocate for our libraries and communities. Conference co-chairs Wanda Brown and Roberta V. Webb; local arrangements co-chairs Janice Granger and Pam Lyons; all National Conference Planning Committee chairs and volunteers were thanked for the conference's success.
As one colleague stated, "It was great. It was like a good family reunion, where you learned something!"
