Reading Safari Club

05/17/2026

Saturday, May 16, 2026 | Summer Reading Celebration

03/22/2026

03/22/2026

Silly Socks Show Video 2

03/22/2026

Silly Socks Day! | March 21, 2026

02/22/2026

Felecia Caruthers

In the midst of the Civil Rights era in America, librarians were battling for and against segregated libraries in the South, however they were also battling over integration within their own ranks. Integration of the library profession was a long process that started in the early 20th century.

Black librarians have been active in American librarianship since the start of the library movement in the 19th century. The first Black librarian to graduate from an accredited library school was Edward Christopher Williams in 1900, from the New York State Library School, completing the normally two-year graduate program in one year. Many others would follow, with a total of 180 accredited Black librarians listed in a directory covering graduates from 1900-1936.

While many library schools in the North did accept Black students, in the South there was only the Library School at the Hampton Institute, run from 1925 through 1939, which graduated 183 librarians during its existence. When the Hampton Institute’s library school closed in 1939, southern Black librarians were left with only para-professional or summer-term programs.

Read more about the integration of the library profession that took place over several decades: https://bit.ly/3ZJpar4

02/22/2026

Celebrating Black History Month | February 21, 2026

11/16/2025

Reading Safari Club celebrates International Games and Puzzles Week AND Thanksgiving
Saturday, November 15, 2025

09/21/2025

Celebrating National Honey Month 2025

06/02/2025

Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI)
Saturday | May 31, 2025

02/16/2025

Black History Month 2025