Library Archaeology: Reconstructing a Catalog of the Arthur A. Schomburg Book and Pamphlet Collection

This article discusses a collaboration between scholars and staff of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture to identify the books and pamphlets purchased in 1926 by the New York Public Library from Afro-Puerto Rican bibliophile Arturo (Arthur) Schomburg. With no extant inventory of that acquisition, the question of what Schomburg's famous library contained has long puzzled scholars. This article details the archival research, bibliographic work, and cataloging undertaken as part of the Center's "Home to Harlem" initiative to reconstruct Schomburg's library, which has resulted in an unprecedented picture of a collection foundational to the field of Black studies.