Booker T. Washington Library
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The Booker T. Washington Library was initially located in a storefront located at 1715 Third Avenue North for over 5 years until it began renting space on the ground floor of the brand new Colored Masonic Temple Building located just a block away at 1630 4th Avenue North.
When the branch opened in 1918, the Booker T. Washington Library was one of the first lending libraries in Alabama open to black patrons. In 1956, the branch collection was moved to the newly-built Smithfield Library on 8th Avenue West, which was the first structure built for the specific purpose of housing a library for black patrons.
References
- Graham, Patterson Toby (2002) A Right to Read: Segregation and Civil Rights in Alabama's Public Libraries, 1900-1965. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press
External links
- Smithfield Branch at bplonline.org