One of the most important troves of African-American historical materials became the subject of national ire and hand wringing this week, when the student newspaper at Howard University reported that the university library’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center -- considered one of the foremost repositories of artifacts and manuscripts related to black history -- could close due to an inadequate budget and a shortage of staff.
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Moorland-Spingarn’s 80 percent personnel reduction over the past 15 years is not attributable merely to the evolution of new technologies, [Thomas C.] Battle [retiring director of Moorland-Spingarn] said. “Ours is not the kind of repository that can simply rely on the digitization of materials,” he said. Meanwhile, the center’s collections -- which include photographs, letters, music recordings, and other artifacts -- have grown. Its 10 remaining staff members need additional space to properly store the materials, process collections, and handle artifacts, Battle said. “We are in an old facility and need to be in a modern facility,” he said.
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