A White Librarian in Black Harlem

Abstract

Ernestine Rose (1880-1961) was a pioneer in providing library services to blacks in Harlem at the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library from 1920 to 1942. She galvanized the resources of the community and applied the prestige of the New York Public Library to plan, execute, and promote library services at a time when blacks were moving in large numbers to New York after World War I. Under Rose's leadership, the branch became a model of public library services to an underserved minority. The purpose of this study is to chronicle and assess her work during the Negro Renaissance, a dynamic period of the community's history.