Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Schomburg

The Man Who Built a Library (AUDIO)

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Amid the scholars, poets, authors, and artists of the Harlem Renaissance stood an Afro-Puerto Rican named Arturo Schomburg. This law clerk's life's passion was to collect books, letters, music, and art from Africa and the African diaspora and to bring to light the achievements of people of African descent throughout the ages. When Schomburg's collection became so big that it began to overflow his house (and his wife threatened to mutiny), he turned to the New York Public Library, where he created and curated a collection that was the cornerstone of a new Negro Division. A century later, his groundbreaking collection, known as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, has become a beacon to scholars all over the world.
  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Levels

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Ron Butler solidly performs this free-verse biography of Arthur Schomburg, a historian and important collector of African-American historical documents. A great deal of care has been invested in the production. Instead of Eric Velazquez's beautiful illustrations, which accompany the printed book, the producers selected musical themes to set the mood and depict the time period and subject matter. The music also helps to shift the tone between sections--but it's used at other points as well, sometimes masking the transition to a new topic. Occasionally, the music swells to suggest triumph and overcomes the steady narration, but, overall, this is a worthy effort to bring the story of Schomburg's life and work to listeners. D.L.Y. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from August 7, 2017
      In graceful free verse, Weatherford delivers a remarkable tribute to Arturo Schomburg, the Afro-Puerto Rican historian, collector, and activist who unearthed the hidden history and achievements of “Africa’s sons and daughters.” In addition to charting the path Schomburg’s life took after emigrating to the U.S. from Puerto Rico, she gives ample attention to the knowledge he uncovered as he amassed books: “Schomburg chased the truth and turned up icons/ whose African heritage had been whitewashed,” among them John James Audubon, Alexandre Dumas, and Alexander Pushkin, all of whom are captured with vibrancy and life in Velasquez’s oil portraits. Schomburg’s ambitions, scholarship, and accomplishments were tremendous—“There was no field of human endeavor/ that he did not till with his determined hand”—and Weatherford and Velasquez more than do justice to them. Ages 9–12. Agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:1100
  • Text Difficulty:7-9

Loading