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Harlem Community Collection

Discover stories and histories for and about the Harlem community in this circulating collection of titles for all ages that centers Harlem and our rich history of African American writing and culture. Visit 125th Street Library, Countee Cullen Library, or Harlem Library for more information and to borrow titles from the collection.

Since before the Harlem Renaissance and right through the present day, Harlem has had a rich tradition of extraordinary African American writing and culture. With the Harlem Community Collection, librarians at Countee Cullen Library and Harlem Library have curated a selection of some of the most significant works written about, for, by, and in Harlem and its diverse communities. These books are reserved for circulation in Harlem to ensure easy community access to great works of literature that speak to the Black experience in America. Authors including Maya Angelou, Faith Ringgold, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Nikki Grimes, Walter Dean Myers, Toni Morrison, and Chester Himes feature in this growing collection.

Visit 125th Street Library, Countee Cullen Library, or Harlem Library to explore the collection, borrow books, pick up a bookmark, and find more information. 

This initiative is made possible through the generous support of Friends of Webster Library.

To find out more about Black culture, history, and literature, visit the Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Founded in 1925 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2017, the Schomburg Center is one of the world’s leading cultural institutions devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diasporic, and African experiences.

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