Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center

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Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, Inc.jpg
The front of Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
Established1982
Location, ,
Campus Atlanta University Center
Website http://www.auctr.edu/

The Atlanta University Center (AUC) Robert W. Woodruff Library is a library in Atlanta which serves the four members of the Atlanta University Center, the world's oldest consortium of historically black colleges and universities [1] (Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College) and the Interdenominational Theological Center. [2] [3] [4] The library, constructed in 1982, is named for Robert Winship Woodruff, former CEO of the Coca Cola Company. [5] In 2010, the library completed a $16.2 million renovation, partly funded by donations from the Coca Cola Company. [6] [7] [8]

Contents

The library is a member of ARCHE, Lyrasis, OCLC and the HBCU Library Alliance. It is a participant in the Georgia state library network, GALILEO. In 2016, the library won the Excellence in Academic Libraries Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries, the first HBCU to win the award. [9]

Collections

The Woodruff Library owns over a million items, including approximately 383,000 print volumes, 43,000 electronic books, 867,000 microforms, 314,000 government documents, 17,000 theses and dissertations, 35,000 bound periodicals, 1,500 current periodical subscriptions, 7,000 compact discs, more than 200 databases, and nearly 7,500 cubic feet (210 m3) of archival collection. The Archives and Special Collections department specializes in materials about the African American experience and the history of AUC schools. [5] Collections include the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection and the Henry P. Slaughter collection. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

Morehouse College Private college in the US

Morehouse College is a private historically black men's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. Anchored by its main campus of 61 acres (25 ha) near downtown Atlanta, the college has a variety of residential dorms and academic buildings east of Ashview Heights. Along with Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and the Morehouse School of Medicine, the college is a member of the Atlanta University Center consortium. Founded by William Jefferson White in 1867 in response to the liberation of enslaved African-Americans following the American Civil War, Morehouse adopted a seminary university model and stressed religious instruction in the Baptist tradition. Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, the college experienced rapid albeit financially unstable institutional growth by establishing a liberal arts curriculum. The three-decade tenure of Benjamin Mays during the mid-20th century led to strengthened finances, an enrollment boom, and increased academic competitiveness. The college has played a key role in the development of the civil rights movement and racial equality in the United States.

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Most of these institutions were founded in the years after the American Civil War and are concentrated in the Southern United States. During the period of segregation in the United States prior to the Civil Rights Act, the overwhelming majority of higher education institutions were predominantly white and completely disqualified or limited African-American enrollment. For a century after the end of slavery in the United States in 1865, most colleges and universities in the Southern United States prohibited all African Americans from attending, while institutions in other parts of the country regularly employed quotas to limit admissions of Black people. HBCUs were established to give opportunities to African Americans especially in the South.

Spelman College Private, historically Black womens college in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Spelman College is a private, historically Black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman received its collegiate charter in 1924, making it America's oldest private historically black liberal arts college for women.

Clark Atlanta University Historically Black University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Clark Atlanta University is a private Methodist historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta University is the first HBCU in the Southern United States. Founded on September 19, 1865 as Atlanta University, it consolidated with Clark College to form Clark Atlanta University in 1988. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Atlanta University Center Educational consortium of HBCUs in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The Atlanta University Center Consortium is the oldest and largest contiguous consortium of African-American higher education institutions in the United States. The center consists of four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in southwest Atlanta, Georgia: Clark Atlanta University, Spelman College, Morehouse College, and the Morehouse School of Medicine. The consortium structure allows for students to cross-register at the other institutions in order to attain a broader collegiate experience. They also share the Robert W. Woodruff Library, a dual degree engineering program, and career planning and placement services.

Robert W. Woodruff President of Coca-Cola

Robert Winship Woodruff was an American businessman who served as the president of The Coca-Cola Company from 1923 until 1955. With a large net worth, he was also a major philanthropist, and many educational and cultural landmarks in the U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia, bear his name. Included among these are the Woodruff Arts Center, Woodruff Park, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library.

Florence M. Read

Florence Matilda Read was raised in Delevan, New York. She was president of Spelman College from 1927-1953. Prior to that she was acting president of Atlanta University from 1936-1937.

Interdenominational Theological Center

The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest free-standing African American theological school in the United States.

West End station (MARTA) MARTA rail station

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Carl Ware is an American businessman. He is a retired executive vice-president of The Coca-Cola Company.

Pemberton Place

Pemberton Place, located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, just north of Centennial Olympic Park in the Luckie Marietta district, is a complex that is home to the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, and the Center for Civil and Human Rights. It is named after John Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola.

Emory University Libraries Academic library system of Emory University

Emory University Libraries is the collective group of academic libraries at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The libraries include the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library, Goizueta Business Library, Hugh F. MacMillan Law Library, Pitts Theology Library, Oxford College Library, and the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. Since January 15, 2014, Yolanda Cooper serves as Dean and University Librarian for Emory Libraries.

Hunter Hills is a neighborhood located west of downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Its motto, "One Community, One Family", has been its cornerstone since 2001. The neighborhood is encompassed in the 30314 zip code. Hunter Hills shares borders with Mozley Park, Dixie Hills and West Lake neighborhoods. The neighborhood rests just inside Atlanta's perimeter highway I-285, and U.S. Route 78. The schools that serve the neighborhood are Stanton Elementary, Carter G. Woodson Elementary School, Ron Clark Academy, Herndon Elementary and Washington High School, and the Atlanta Job Corps. City of Refuge, a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit, was established on the 1300 block of Joseph E. Boone Blvd. in 2003 and helps to bring transformation to individuals and families through services including housing, health and wellness, vocational training, and youth development.

The Black Ivy League refers to the historically black colleges (HBCUs) in the United States that attract the majority of high-performing or affluent African American students. Similar groups include: Public Ivies, Southern Ivies, and the Little Ivies among others, none of which have canonical definitions. Generally, the schools themselves avoid using the term Black Ivy to describe themselves.

The HBCU Library Alliance is a consortium of libraries at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Founded in 2002 by deans and directors of libraries at HBCUs, the consortium comprises over 100 member organizations. The alliance specifically represents the organizations included in the White House HBCU Initiative. In 2019 the HBCU Library Alliance entered into a national partnership with the Council on Library and Information Resources.

African Americans in Atlanta

Atlanta has long been known as a center of black wealth, higher education, political power and culture; a cradle of the Civil Rights Movement and the home of Martin Luther King Jr. It has often been called a "black mecca".

Cheryl Finley is an art historian, author, curator and critic. She is a professor at Cornell University and Director of the AUC Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective. She won Bard Graduate Center's Horowitz Book Prize for her book, Committed to Memory: the Art of the Slave Ship Icon in 2019.

Karen L. Jefferson is an American archivist who serves as the Head of Archives and Special Collections at the Atlanta University Center. She has been a member of the Society of American Archivists for almost 40 years, serving on the Council from 1997-2000 and receiving the Fellows Award in 2004.

Clarence Albert Bacote was a historian and activist from the U.S. state of Georgia. He was a professor of political history at Atlanta University and a political organizer. The Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center has a collection of his papers.

The College Language Association or CLA is a professional association of Black scholars and educators who teach English and foreign languages. Founded in 1937, the organization "serves the academic, scholarly and professional interests of its members and the collegiate communities they represent."

References

  1. Bugg, Kimberly; Odom, Rosaline (Apr–Jun 2009). "Extreme Makeover Reference Edition: Restructuring Reference Services at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center". Reference Librarian. 50 (2): 193–204. doi:10.1080/02763870902755932. hdl:20.500.12322/auc.rwwlpub:0015. ISSN   0276-3877. Constructed in 1982, the Robert W. Woodruff Library is named in honor of Robert Winship Woodruff, former CEO of the Coca Cola Company. The library was designed to serve the instructional, informational, and research needs for member institutions of the Atlanta University Center Consortium, the world’s largest and oldest consortium of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
  2. "About Our Library". Mission: We serve as the center of the academic village for Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College and Spelman College, providing the highest level of information resources and services in support of teaching and learning, scholarship and cultural preservation of the Atlanta University Center.
  3. Fullwood, Steven G. (Jan–Feb 2006). "Saving Ourselves: Archival Treasures. The closing of the Clark Atlanta library school renews interest in collections at many historically black colleges and universities". Black Issues Book Review. 8 (1): 48–50. ISSN   1522-0524. [T]he Atlanta University Center Consortium Robert W. Woodruff Library, the new home of CAU SLIS records. It is the official library for four HBCUs--Spelman College, Morehouse College, Union Theological Center and Clark Atlanta University--and offers a wealth of rare and unique resources that sit quietly on its voluminous shelves.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2015-07-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. 1 2 "About Library". Atlanta University Center . Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  6. Ezarik, Melissa (November 2013). "INSIDE LOOK: LIBRARIES". University Business. 16 (11): 28–33. ISSN   1097-6671.
  7. Galloway, Ann-Christe (December 2009). "Atlanta University Center will receive $1.2..." College & Research Libraries News. 70 (11): 714. doi: 10.5860/crln.70.11.8297 .
  8. Free, David (Oct 2010). "Renovations at AUC". College & Research Libraries News. 71 (9): 465. ISSN   0099-0086. Renovated spaces include a new main level Learning Commons with Technology Design Studio, totally redesigned archives reading room, a new graduate study, and quiet study suites. This is the first major interior upgrade since the building's dedication in 1982.
  9. "HBCU library honored". Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. 33 (25): 5. 12 Jan 2017. ISSN   1557-5411.
  10. "Preserving Legacy of Hip Hop Icon". Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. 28 (18): 9. 13 October 2011. ISSN   1557-5411.
  11. "Henry P. Slaughter collection". Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

Coordinates: 33°45′05″N84°24′48″W / 33.75139°N 84.41333°W / 33.75139; -84.41333