Apr 22, 2008
In 1984, Blockson donated to Temple University the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American History Collection. More recently, but no less actively, Blockson has formed a second collection of some 10,000 volumes on black history, which now forms part of Penn State’s Special Collections Library. The collection is housed in the new Charles L. Blockson Room, on the third floor of Pattee Library, west.
The Penn State collection focuses not only on African-Americana, but more broadly documents the African Diaspora, the pattern of human migration that reaches back hundreds of years and traces the movement of blacks from their African homelands to areas around the world, most notably in South America (Brazil and Guyana, for example), the Caribbean and the United States. Both the Temple and Penn State collections are considered among the best African-American historical collections in the country.
Researchers may search the growing holdings of the collection by choosing the Advanced Search in the Penn State online catalog, selecting Special Collections in the "In Library" box and then choosing "Rare Books & Mss," "Blockson Collection" and "Blockson Collection Vault" in the location box.
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: African American Research Center
Last modified by: Thomas Weissinger on 4/22/08