At the Kuumba, a celebration of African American Theatre, the North Carolina Black Repertory
Company presented the play, "DcyVt Bother Me, I Can't Cope," at the Martin Luther King Arts
Complex in Columbus Ohio. Man/bf the local librarians who attended the play dressed in their
distinctive African attire. Pictured from (l-r) are: Bonita Cannady, Brenda McLeod, Arneita
Halrston, Renie Andrews and Crystal Daniel. ?
Historic events raises nation's
\
awareness about libraries
M ore t h a n 1 ,000 Afr i can-, ness science department.
American library professionals con
verged upon the Hyatt Regency
Columbus at Ohio C enter Septem
ber 4-6 for the first national confer
ence of the Black Caucus of the
American Library Association
(BCALA).
The conference workshops
centered around the theme, "Cul
ture Keepers: Heightening and
Empowering Our Communities"
and featured keynote speakers, Glo
ria Naylor, author; Randall Robin
son, executive director of
"We are known throughout the
state and nation for our innovative
ideas," said Hamlin. "Forsyth
County Library has more African
Americans working in professional
positions than any other public
library system in the states of North
Carolina and South Carolina. We
are becoming more culturally
diverse which enables us to offer
more services. This is what we
<^1ve for to promote a sharing and
appreciation for different cultures."
According to Satia Orange, a
was the Kuumba, a celebration of^
African-American theatre. At the
Kuumba, the play, "Don't Bother
Me, I Can't Cope" was presented
by the North Carolina Black Reper
tory Company at the Martin Luther
King Jr. Performing and Cultural
Arts Complex (in Columbus, Ohio).
- Other activities during the con
ference includes a job placement
center that advertised over 100
available positions nation-wide.
Recruiters were looking-for
African-American job-seekers, said
Hamlin.
Pictured from (l-r) are: Stiella Johnson, Wanda Brown-Cason,
Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin, Lois Leggett and Satia Orange.
TransAfrica, Inc.; Congressman
Major Owens, the first librarian in
Congress; and Councilwoman
Augusta Clark of Philadelphia, Fa.
"The BCALA hosted the con
ference to bring together the 15,000
-plus African-American library pro
fessionals who wish to share in the
realization of our mission," said
Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin, conference
chair and assistant director of the
F;orsyth County Public Library.
The BCALA serves as an
advocate for the development, pro
motion and improvement of library
services and resources to the
nation's African-American commu
nity. It also provides leadership for
the recruitment and professional
development of African-American
librarians. The BCALA has more
than 700 members.
North Carolina had the largest
number of librarians, overall who
attended the conference with about.
18 librarians and support staff from
the Forsyth County Public Library
system.
Mardy R. Franklin, ALA Pres.
Local librarians who attended
the conference includes Sylvia
Sprinkle Hamlin, Satia Orange,
Director of the library's ChHdren's
Department; Lois Leggett, manager
of the Southside Branch Library;
Wanda Brown-Cason, head of
catologing at Wake Forest Universi
ty; and Sheila M. Johnson, librarian
for the county public library's busi
Sylvia Sprlnfcle-Hamlin, assistant director of the County Library
total of 7 1 workshops were present
ed that focused on 20 different clas
H ami in -sayseareers in library
science are jobs for the future
sifications of specialized libraries
such as African-American,. medical,
federal, and academic libraries.
# "This was a conference that
focused primarily on the African
American's needs and perspective.
It was learning experience," she
said.
Orange says the workshop, "An
Uncertain Future For Small Aca
demic Libraries" conducted by Dr.
Mae Rodney, director of libraries at
Winston-Salem State University
was one of the most interesting pre
sentations at the conference. Other
workshops Orange says that were
well -attended includes: "The Bud
get Process," presented by Anna
C*jj|ry, director of Enoch Pratt Free
Library in Baltimore, Md. and
Samuel A. Morrison, director of the
Broward County Public Library in
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; and "Under
standing AA, EEO, and Diversity:
They're Not The Same Thing," pre
sented by Paula Pcnn-Nabrit, presi
dent/CEO of Penn-Nabrit & Asso
ciates in Columbus, Ohio. "Curry
and Morrison are two directors
from two of the largest public
library systems in the country and
both are African- Americans,"
Orange added.
The highlight of the conference
because assessing information is the
key to any successful endeavor. She
predicts that information brokers
will be in demand due to the inter
est businesses and individuals have
in seeking specific kinds of infor
mation. Hamlin says the field is
wide open because there is also a
shortage of African-American
librarians.
"One of the primary goals of
the conference was to bring librari
ans together to network and ta
recruit people in the field. A schol
arship fund, the E.J. Josey Scholar
ship, has been established to recruit
people interested in pursuing M.S.
and Ph.D degrees in library sci-.
ence," said Hamlin. The scholarship
is named after E.J. Josey, the first
African-American male to serve as
president of the ALA. He is the
fdfilnder of the Black Caucus, orga
nized in 1970.
Although university representa
tives attended the conference to
recruit potential candidates for their
library schools, there are only two
accredited library schools at black
universities. They arc North Caroli
na Central University in Durham
and Clark-Atlanta University in
Atlanta, Ga.
iSS^^^araight or
WZi the nStesmooth, li#it taste says, 'play it agau
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