Carol Gilliam leafs through one of the many pieces of Black literature at the Roosevelt Public Library.
ROOSEVELT — CSEA member Carol Gilliam was recently awarded an honorable mention for the prestigious Zora Neale Hurston Award, a national honor that recognizes a librarian for showing leadership in promoting African-American literature.
Hurston is considered one of the leading authors of African-American literature and is best known for her novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God.”
Gilliam, who works as a librarian at Roosevelt Public Library, is responsible for developing and managing the library’s Black Heritage Collection, which not only encompasses African-American literature and other materials, but materials from Black culture from around the world. Gilliam is largely responsible for making the Roosevelt Public Library the third largest collection of African-American
“We have students from Columbia University who come out here to do research with our collection,” said Gilliam.
The collection not only includes printed books, but audio books, documentaries and movies.
One of the library’s more impressive features is its database. If you’re a member of Roosevelt Library, you will have access to statistics, maps, pictures and speeches.
Gilliam stressed that the research material at Roosevelt Public Library isn’t solely focused on African Americans.
“It’s really a Black culture collection because we encompass the entire diaspora,” said Gilliam. “There are Black people in Europe, the Caribbean and all over the world. We have research material for them, too.”
“We also have an Hispanic database and an American-Indian database,” said Gilliam. “Many Hispanics and American-Indians have some African lineage. So, our databases can be useful to them.”
If a library patron doesn’t want to do research but still wants to learn more, Gilliam plans many cultural events for patrons throughout the year.
“I plan bus trips, cultural programs and workshops,” said Gilliam. “My events are very well attended, and our patrons really enjoy them.”
Future plans for the library include a genealogy room, where Roosevelt Library members will be able to research their family history.
The library is also working with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Schomburg is the largest resource for black history and culture in New York state.
“They’re going through a revitalization and have discovered that they have duplicate materials,” said Gilliam.
“They contacted us to see if we were interested in taking any of the duplicates for our library.”
“Once we get everything they’re sending, we’ll have an LGBTQ section, specifically focusing on African-Americans, to add to our resources,” said Gilliam. “That’s something that no other library in Nassau County will have.”
Gilliam is keenly aware that her job as a librarian means she is the gateway to library patrons’ knowledge.
“We want to help our patrons learn how to seek and get information so they will be lifelong learners.”
— Wendi Bowie
