1913 - 1939 The Early Years

Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore and John Merrick

Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore was born in 1863 to free, black, land-owning parents. He established a medical practice in Durham in 1888, becoming Durham’s first African-American physician. Moore became actively involved in the economic and cultural life of Durham, pursuing numerous successful business ventures. An avid reader and a lover of books, he lamented the lack of “good, wholesome reading matter” available to the young people in Durham’s African-American community. In 1913 Moore set out to remedy this deficiency. He started a library with 799 donated books in the basement of White Rock Baptist Church, where he was superintendent of the Sunday school.

The church library met with limited success—denominational differences in the community impeded its use by all residents. Undeterred, Moore enlisted the help of his friend and business associate John Merrick. Merrick, born a slave in 1859, was the owner of a successful chain of barbershops and, along with Moore, was instrumental in establishing such landmark African-American institutions as the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company (at one time the largest black-owned business in the United States) and Lincoln Hospital.

In 1916, the two men established the Durham Colored Library in a building Merrick owned at the corner of Fayetteville and Pettigrew streets. Community donations supported the library for its entire first year. In 1917 the city of Durham began granting the library a meager monthly appropriation, but the library still relied heavily on community financial support. In 1918 the library began receiving an additional appropriation from Durham County, and that same year the North Carolina General Assembly incorporated an association to be called Durham Colored Library, Inc.

1913 - 1939 The Early Years

Hattie B. Wooten

Hattie B. Wooten was the library’s first librarian and initially its only employee. Wooten earned a salary of $40 per month and was granted living quarters above the library. Wooten worked diligently to promote the library. In 1925 she launched a three-point plan intended to increase circulation: 1) Promote the library as an institution of interest to visitors to the city, 2) Invite all community groups to have meetings in the library, and 3) Have the library placed in the Negro Yearbook. She organized popular activities for children and young adults, sometimes in cooperation with local schoolteachers. Wooten held the position of librarian until her death in 1932.

Under the guidance of Wooten and the board of trustees, the library became increasingly popular. As usage increased, it became apparent that the library was outgrowing its cramped quarters. The board had discussed the need for a new library building since the early 1920s; however, it was not until the late 1930s that they were able to make a serious effort to relocate. In 1939 the board passed a resolution to build a new library at the corner of Umstead and Fayetteville streets. The new building was financed chiefly by a $24,000 loan from North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. Several individuals contributed significant amounts of money, including long-time board president Dr. Stanford Leigh Warren, who donated $4,000 to buy the land on which the library would be built. The new library, named in his honor, opened on January 17, 1940.

View the full asset here: Hattie B. Wooten

1940 - 1965

The first 25 years at the new Stanford L. Warren Public Library were filled with activity and change. Selena Warren Wheeler (daughter of Dr. Warren) had assumed the role of head librarian after Hattie B. Wooten’s death. Wheeler, with the benefit of a comfortable new space, was able to build upon the foundation that Wooten had established to keep growing the library into a vibrant community center. Wheeler retired in 1945 and was replaced by Ray N. Moore, who maintained the position of head librarian until 1966.

View the full asset here: Ray N. Moore and Selena Warren Wheeler

1940 - 1965

Library Activities

The 1940s and 1950s saw the introduction of many activities for adults and children, including the Saturday Morning Movie Hour, the Story Telling Institute, Book Review Forums and the American Heritage Series. Book Review Forums were monthly meetings where attendees gathered to listen to a speaker—usually an African-American educator, civic leader or writer—review a book or discuss an issue. The Book Review Forums attracted many prominent speakers such as authors Pauli Murray and Peter Abrahams, and educators John Hope Franklin and Horace Mann Bond. The American Heritage Series, which lasted for three years beginning in 1953, was a series of periodic community meetings jointly sponsored by the American Library Association, the North Carolina Library Commission and local libraries. Each meeting centered on a theme of contemporary social life discussed within the context of traditional American values. Meetings were held on the themes of "The Role of the Family in Democratic Living," "The Freedom to Read," and "One Hundred Per Cent Americans," among others.

View the full asset here: American Heritage Series Planning Committee

1940 - 1965

The Negro Collection

A significant piece of the library’s history is contained in what became known in 1942 as the Negro Collection. The original 799 volumes with which Dr. Aaron Moore began the Durham Colored Library contained a number of books by and about African Americans and African-American culture. Related titles were steadily added to the library’s collection over the years. In 1942 Selena Wheeler, recognizing the uniqueness and importance of many of the African-American materials owned by the library, designated the Negro Collection as a special, non-circulating collection. It was renamed the Selena Warren Wheeler Collection in her honor in 1990.

View the full asset here: Selena Warren Wheeler

1940 - 1965

Library Corner for the Blind

A unique development at the library and in the community came in 1949 thanks to Lyda Moore Merrick, chairwoman of the board of trustees and the daughter of library founder Dr. Aaron Moore, and her friend John Carter Washington. Washington had been blind since infancy, and Merrick spent much time at the library reading to blind patrons. The two started the Library Corner for the Blind to provide a center for information resources and recreational opportunities for blind Durham residents. The Corner was a huge success, and in 1951 Merrick and Washington founded the Negro Braille Magazine, a publication that printed Braille versions of news and feature stories of interest to African Americans. The magazine was renamed Merrick-Washington Magazine for the Blind in 1981 and is still in operation today.

View the full asset here: Four Men Playing Bagatelle in the Library Corner for the Blind

1940 - 1965

Bookmobile

Throughout the 1940s and into the 1960s, the Stanford L. Warren Library strove to expand service to all African-American residents of Durham County, not just those with easy access to the library building. The library began operating its first bookmobile in 1941. Previously, distance services had been provided through book deposit stations throughout Durham County. These were less than ideal. Most were operated through schools, so they were open only eight months out of the year and did not provide services for adults. Paid for through funds from the North Carolina State Library Commission and other state agencies, the bookmobile was a tremendous success. Every other week, it went to locations throughout the county, traveling nearly 600 miles per month. Rural residents deeply appreciated their new access to library services. As a result of the newly-expanded service, Annie Tucker and Gladys Whitted were hired as permanent staff. The library bought a new, bigger bookmobile in 1948.

View the full asset here: Janette Daye Reads During a Bookmobile Visit

1940 - 1965

Expansion

Once again the library was outgrowing its facilities. In 1949 the board of trustees decided to borrow $20,000 from North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company to build an addition onto the library. The addition, completed in 1951, provided the library with a new children’s room, extra storage space, a room to house bookmobile supplies, and extra workspace.

Between 1954 and 1961 the Stanford L. Warren Library built three branches. The McDougald Terrace Community Library opened in 1954, the John Avery Boys Club branch opened in 1960 and the Bragtown branch opened in 1961. The McDougald Terrace Community Library, located in the McDougald Terrace housing project, provided reading material and activities to the nearly 250 families who lived there. The John Avery Boys Club branch was operated by the director of the Boys Club, Lee Smith. The McDougald Terrace and Bragtown branches are still in operation today.

In 1964 the library held a "50 Years of Service" celebration at White Rock Baptist Church, site of the original Durham Colored Library. The Stanford L. Warren Library had grown and developed impressively over those fifty years. The library remained a cultural hub for Durham’s African-American community, but the 1960s brought sweeping changes to the city’s landscape, and the library could not avoid being caught up in them.

View the full asset here: Five Boys Reading at the John Avery Boys' Club

1966 - 1979 Merger and Aftermath

In 1956 the American Library Association issued a report stating that the existence of a discrete library system was impractical if the population it served was less than 50,000. This report came at a time when many cities across America were beginning to question maintaining separate library systems for black and white citizens. The population served by the Stanford L. Warren Library and its branches failed to reach the benchmark. Discussions of a merger of the black and white library systems in Durham began and would continue for the next ten years.

In 1963 the city of Durham hired Emerson Greenaway, executive director of the Philadelphia public library system, to evaluate Durham’s public libraries and their administration. [Related Link] His study revealed a number of shortcomings in the administration of Durham’s public libraries—not enough funding, not enough staff, an insufficient building for the white system’s main library and an unnecessary duplication of spending and effort resulting from the existence of two distinct library systems. Many of his recommendations went into effect within several years of the study’s conclusion—including the merger of the two systems, in 1966.

The board of the Stanford L. Warren Library agreed to the merger on several conditions. First, the new library system would have to purchase the land on which the Stanford Warren and Bragtown libraries were located, and the name Stanford L. Warren would stay on the library. Second, the board wanted a bond election to be held to raise money for a new main library. Last, the boards of the two systems would be dissolved and a new board created that included six members from each of the old boards. The board’s conditions were met, the libraries merged and the Stanford L. Warren Library became a branch of the new system.

At Greenaway’s urging the library hired a new director, George Linder, in 1965. Linder was hired specifically to guide the process of merging the two library systems and to serve as director of the new, unified Durham City-County Library System. Ray Moore, the longtime head librarian at the Stanford L. Warren Library, was appointed assistant director of the unified system. Margret Whisenton, Stanford L. Warren’s extension librarian, was appointed head of extension services for the new system, a position which involved supervision of all library branches. The unified technical services and extension services departments were moved to the Stanford L. Warren branch. Annie M. Tucker became branch librarian at Stanford L. Warren in 1973.

View the full asset here: George Linder and Ray Moore Looking at a Map

1966 - 1979 Merger and Aftermath

The years immediately after the two library systems merged were difficult. Library facilities in Durham had been inadequate for years, and the challenge of combining systems added another obstacle to the provision of high-quality service. The Stanford Warren Library building suffered from neglect throughout the 1970s, and by the end of the decade it was badly in need of attention. Circulation had decreased dramatically. The branch was dealt a serious blow in 1980, when the new Main Library opened fewer than two miles away. The future of the branch had to be addressed. Many people in Durham’s African-American community were afraid that it would be closed, erasing a vital piece of their history. Fearing controversy, library administrators were reluctant to close it.

The library board appointed a committee to study the problem in 1983. The committee, headed by Constance Watts (daughter of Lyda Merrick and granddaughter of Aaron Moore and John Merrick), conducted a study of the population served by the library. Finding that it included a high percentage of children, working women and senior citizens, they sought to reshape the library’s role to address the needs of those demographics. The committee then held a series of well-attended public meetings where community members made suggestions for improving the branch and ensuring its longevity. As a result of these meetings, a Friends of the Library organization was formed to support the Stanford Warren branch. A plan was developed to implement improvements that included renovating the building, improving the book collection, expanding the branch’s children’s services and striving to increase community awareness of and engagement with the library. The Friends and members of the library’s administration approached county officials to ask for funds for a renovation in 1984. Officials agreed and appropriated $245,000 for the project. The branch closed briefly, then reopened in 1985 with a new branch manager, Shirley Brown, expanded services and improved facilities.

View the full asset here: Library Board and Director

1980 to the Present Day

The newly-renovated Stanford L. Warren branch reopened in 1985 with a week-long open-house celebration. The library had a lot to celebrate. Thanks to the dedication of the Friends of the Stanford L. Warren Library and others, the library had survived into its fifth decade.

The library also continued to provide valuable programming for adults. The branch hosted the Roadmap to Great Literature for New Writers program, founded by the library system’s writer-in-residence, Judy Hogan. The program was a workshop where participants read classic works of literature and wrote assignments incorporating what they had learned about writing from reading those works. It was hugely successful and was chosen by the North Carolina Humanities Council as an entry in a nationwide contest for humanities programs. Other adult programs included the Griot’s Corner, a series of performances by storytellers and other spoken-word artists (“griot” is an African word for a tribal storyteller).

In the late 1980s controversy broke out surrounding the name of the library’s prized Negro Collection. Many community members began to express that they found the word "Negro" offensive. Some suggested that it be replaced with the term "African-American," but others objected that it was inappropriate, since they were Americans and felt no real connection to Africa. Others suggested calling it the "Black Collection," but the term "black" was rejected by some as inaccurate and misleading. It was also suggested that the collection be named after Hattie B. Wooten, the Stanford L. Warren Library’s first librarian. Ultimately, in 1990, it was officially named the Selena Warren Wheeler Collection, after the library’s second librarian, who had worked diligently to develop the collection. That was an important year for the Warren branch—1990 marked the 50th anniversary of the library’s occupation of its current building. The anniversary was celebrated with storytelling, a wreath-laying ceremony and an exhibit on the library’s history, among other events.

The library building was renovated again in a two-year, two million-dollar process that began in 2004 and ended with a grand reopening on September 7, 2006. The library reopened with numerous improvements to make the building more usable and welcoming. It contained additional public meeting and study rooms. The main entrance was moved from Fayetteville Street to a side street. The Selena Warren Wheeler Collection was moved into a public area to make it more readily accessible to patrons. Also included outside the remodeled building was a plaque honoring Durham blues musician Blind Boy Fuller, a recent inductee into the Blues Hall of Fame.

The community enthusiastically embraced the revamped library. The reopening followed closely on the heels of the 2003 observance of the 90th anniversary of public library service to blacks in Durham.