The Moorland–Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) in

Washington, D.C ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

., is located on the campus of

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

on the first and ground floors of Founders Library. The MSRC is recognized as one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world. As one of Howard University's major research facilities, the MSRC collects, preserves, organizes and makes available for research a wide range of resources chronicling the Black experience. Thus, it maintains a tradition of service which dates to the formative years of Howard University, when materials related to Africa and African Americans were first acquired.

History

In 1914, J. E. Moorland, a Black theologian who was an alumnus and trustee of the University, donated his private library, at that time considered to be one of the most significant collections of Black related materials in existence. Moorland's donation reflected the efforts of African Americans to take a leadership role in the documentation, preservation, and study of their own history and culture. His collection provided the catalyst for the centralization of the University Library's other Black-related materials, which became known collectively as The Moorland Foundation. In 1946 Howard University acquired the large personal library of Arthur B. Spingarn, an attorney, social activist, and prominent collector of books and other materials produced by Black people. The Moorland–Spingarn Research Center is named for these two benefactors whose collections provided the foundation upon which later development could be built. Although several librarians helped to develop the Moorland Foundation's collection during the early years, the appointment in 1930 of Dorothy B. Porter (later Dorothy B. Porter Wesley) signaled a new era. In a career that spanned more than forty years, Dr. Porter Wesley guided the collection through substantial expansion, including the development of a new classification scheme, authoritative bibliographies, and a wide variety of research tools. In 1973, the collections were reorganized as the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, and Dr. Michael R. Winston was appointed its first director. Under Winston's leadership, separate Library and Manuscript Divisions were established, and the Howard University Museum and Howard University Archives were created. While the Library Division was expected to continue to expand the MSRC's extensive collections of books, newspapers, journals, and printed materials, the other units were an integral part of the Research Center's new program development. The new programs emphasized the identification, acquisition, preservation, research and exhibition of materials which could transform the existing special collections into a modern archives and manuscript repository and museum facility. From 1986 to 2010 the MSRC was directed by Thomas C. Battle. Following Battle's departure, the center was directed by Howard Dodson until 2016. Current plans call for a greater reliance upon digitization and online accessibility, increased public programs, and sponsored research projects, including an active commitment to publishing the products of research conducted at the Research Center by its staff and other scholars.

Divisions

The Library Division

With more than 175,000 books, pamphlets, periodicals and microforms in numerous languages in its collections, the Library Division provides extensive documentary evidence of the history, lives and struggles of people of African descent. Among the library's holdings are many rare works, going back to the sixteenth century, by such notables as

Juan Latino Juan Latino (born Juan de Sessa; Ethiopia c. 1518 – Granada, c. 1594/1597) was a Spanish professor of Ethiopian descent at the University of Granada during the sixteenth century. He could be considered the first African who studied at a Europea ...

Jacobus Capitein Jacobus Elisa Johannes Capitein (1 February 1747) was a Dutch writer, Calvinist minister and missionary best known for being the first individual of African descent to be ordained as a minister in an established Protestant church. Born in Weste ...

, Gustavus Vassa,

Phillis Wheatley Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly ( – December 5, 1784) was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Gates, Henry Louis, ''Trials of Phillis Wheatley: Ameri ...

Jupiter Hammon Jupiter Hammon (October 17, 1711 – ca. 1806) was an American writer who is known as a founder of African-American literature, as his poem published in 1761 in New York was the first by an African American in North America. He published both po ...

, David Walker,

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

and Martin Delaney. The collections are particularly strong in the first editions and first works by early twentieth century contemporary writers, including

W.E.B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

, Richard Wright,

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was aw ...

, Nicolas Guillén,

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and ''magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

and

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

. Special resources within the division's collections include: theses and dissertations written on Black-related topics by students of other colleges and universities; English and foreign language newspapers, journals and magazines which provide current and retrospective examination of the Black diasporic experience; and an extensive vertical file collection consisting of thousands of folders of biographical and subject-related ephemeral materials which often serve as the sole source of information on obscure as well as better known people and events. Current and rare titles are added regularly to the collection to enhance its growth and development.

Manuscript Division

The resources of the Manuscript Division combine to provide important insight into the growth and development of Black families, organizations, institutions, social and religious consciousness, and the continuing struggle for civil rights and human justice. Organized in 1974 into four departments – Manuscripts, Prints and Photographs, Oral History, and Music – the collections of primary source materials of the Manuscript Division complement the resources of the Library Division and broaden the scope of areas for research on the black experience. With holdings totaling more than 18,000 linear feet, the Manuscript Department provides extensive documentation of African American life and history. Currently more than 650 collections are available for research. These collections include the correspondence, photographs, diaries, scrapbooks, writings and memorabilia of such notables as

Alain Locke Alain LeRoy Locke (September 13, 1885 – June 9, 1954) was an American writer, philosopher, educator, and patron of the arts. Distinguished in 1907 as the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, Locke became known as the philosophical architect ...

E. Franklin Frazier Edward Franklin Frazier (; September 24, 1894 – May 17, 1962), was an American sociologist and author, publishing as E. Franklin Frazier. His 1932 Ph.D. dissertation was published as a book titled ''The Negro Family in the United States'' (1 ...

Mary Church Terrell Mary Church Terrell (born Mary Eliza Church; September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954) was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and became known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage. She taught in the Lati ...

, Anna J. Cooper, and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and

Eslanda Robeson Eslanda "Essie" Cardozo Goode Robeson (December 15, 1895 – December 13, 1965) was an American anthropologist, author, actress, and civil rights activist. She was the wife and business manager of performer Paul Robeson. Biography Early y ...

. The Prints and Photographs Department makes available for study, research and exhibition over 150,000 graphic images, including photographs, slides, postcards, broadsides, prints, and maps. These works date from the 1800s to the present and feature drawings and sketches, daguerreotypes, tintypes, stereograph cards and glass plate negatives. Music, reflecting Black participation in and contributions to the development of jazz, folk, spiritual, popular and classical styles, is well documented by the Music Department. Its collections are rich in sheet music, recordings, song book albums, and instructional concert material for voice and piano. The collection documents over 400 composers dating from the 18th century to the present. Important and essential documentation of the civil rights era is available in the collections of the Oral History Department. The Ralph J. Bunche Oral History Collection totals well over 700 transcripts that provide valuable insight into the thoughts and actions of the people who participated in and shaped this critical period in American history. Other collections focus on women, Howard University, African American military history and memoirs of some of the donors whose papers are deposited in the Manuscript Department.

The Howard University Archives and Museum

The Howard University Archives serves as a secure repository for the official records of the University, including the administrative files of schools, colleges and departments, university publications, Howard theses and dissertations, as well as materials illustrating the contributions of Howard alumni to society. The Archives provides information on the history of Howard University and its important personages and utilizes the Howard University Museum to showcase University artifacts and memorabilia. The Museum emphasizes the visual documentation of Black history and culture. It exhibits the myriad resources of the Research Center's many special collections and acquires artifacts useful for a broad interpretation of the Black experience.

Digital Production Center

In 2013, the MSRC began a new chapter when it established an official digitization program. Through the Digital Production Center, MSRC preserves and shares its historic records with the world. The digital program also manages the Digital Howard online repository. The platform currently hosts the digital collections from the MSRC. Digital Collections include the archives of Anna J. Cooper and Howard University namesake

Oliver Otis Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men agains ...

as well as the Thomas Montgomery Gregory Military Collection and the 6,000 image Negatives Collection.

Footnotes

External links

*
Digital Howard
– Institutional Repository for the Moorland–Spingarn Research Center and the Howard University Libraries

– MSRC Collection digitized and maintained by the National Institutes of Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
– As part of the Library of Congress’ The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories. {{DEFAULTSORT:Moorland-Spingarn Research Center University and college academic libraries in the United States Libraries in Washington, D.C. Research libraries in the United States Howard University 1973 establishments in Washington, D.C. Special collections libraries in the United States Black studies organizations