Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Center CLP.20170523.002
- Language
- English
- Repository
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Archives and Special Collections
- Title
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Center
- Collection Number
- CLP.20170523.002
- Extent
- 1.5 Linear Feet Three boxes
- Date
- 1964-2001
- Publisher
- Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Archives and Special Collections
- Address
- 4400 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
info@carnegielibrary.org
URL: http://www.carnegielibrary.org/
Content Description
The bulk of the collection consists of monthly and annual reports, administration correspondence and information regarding fund raising and building of a new building facility. The records range from 1964 until 2001 with the bulk in the late 1980s.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder and chronologically within each folder.
Biographical / Historical
In 1970, Elizabeth McCombs, a librarian for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, came up with the idea for the establishment of a reading room. Soon after, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Center of the Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh was opened. It is well known for its strong collection of African-American literature, both fiction and non-fiction, consisting of many books by and about African Americans. The original building was a small store front, on Herron Avenue in Pittsburgh's Hill District community. It was both a memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and an attempt to respond to the informational needs of the community.
The Reading Center was characterized by intense community programming and outreach activities. Volunteers from the community staffed the reading room. Quickly the use and added donations of reading material outgrew the small space. During that time a "Friends" group was organized by Daisy Reed, a librarian at the reading center, to support the reading room. The Friends along with community residents met with representatives of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the City of Pittsburgh to suggest the building of a new reading room on City owned land on Herron Avenue.
In 1986, the City of Pittsburgh planned to build a new center down the block. But what the city planned and what the Friends of Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Center were two different things. The Friends group wanted a larger community center were as the city wanted to keep the building the same size. The group proposed a multi-phased compromise with allowed the city to proceed with the new reading center facility as 'Phase I', which the city would finance. The planned multi-building complex would add an information center and cultural resource component to the final construction, which would be supplemented by the Friends.
In May 1988, the new building was erected and dedicated as a branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh to be known as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading and Cultural Center. It included a meditation center, reading-information site for adult literacy, services for troubled youths, and small business information center. The MLK Reading and Cultural Center remained a branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh until 2005. In September 2005 the Carnegie decided to close the MLK branch based upon its proposal to build a new Hill District Branch. In January 2006, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the City of Pittsburgh agreed to relinquish the building to the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Center, Inc.
On May 1, 2006, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading and Cultural Center opened under the direction of the Board of Directors of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Center, Inc.
Conditions Governing Access
There are no access restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
There are no use restrictions.
Custodial History
Transferred from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Center to the William R. Oliver Special Collections Room
Preferred Citation
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Center, William R. Oliver Special Collections, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh