Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

Carole Boston Weatherford’s attention to detail leaves no stone unturned in a story of a man who unturned many a stone in his lifetime curating a collection that conveyed a history more “complete from all angles” proving “Africans’ place in world history.”  Sometimes I notice small minutia that I believe makes an impact.  I read this book a few days ago and remembered Carole Boston Weatherford’s note about the book plate found in each of Schomburg’s books and when I opened the book just now, I noted the Ex Libris book plate in the front of this book, then flipped back to the author’s note and was disappointed to realize the opportunity was missed to include a replica of Schomburg’s book plate in this book about his life and his collection.  Absent that, each story could stand on its own but told in chronological order do a masterful job of telling the whole story of Schomburg’s life and motivations for building his collection.  I found myself (personally) annoyed at his organizational style once his collection was acquired and housed at the 135th Street Library.  As a librarian, my goal is not just for me to be able to find items but for anyone to be able to find them.  The idea of access to the collection by others is a lingering question I have.  Schomburg comes across in the passage “Doctor” as being a guardian of the books (which may very well be how he saw himself) instead of a proselytizer of the information (which I’m also confident he was in sharing his findings).  The passage “Home” also points to a significant point that today, Schomburg would probably be featured on an episode of Hoarders.  All in all, I am glad he made it his mission to save texts, letters, documents and artifacts that point out the countless contributions of people of African descent.  From Phyllis Wheatley to Beethoven himself, Arturo Schomburg wrote a new narrative and Carole Boston Weatherford translated that for a new generation.  Eric Velasquez’s bright oil paintings highlight the stories that Arturo brought to life as well as Arturo’s life itself and his beautiful color coordinated collection in the background of many of the spreads.  The bibliography and source notes will prove helpful for anyone who would like to read further about Arturo Schomburg.

https://cbweatherford.com/

http://www.ericvelasquez.com/

@ericvelasquezny

Title: Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator: Eric Velasquez

Published 2017 by Candlewick Press

ISBN: 978-0-7636-8046-6

This book was borrowed from the public library for review purposes.