1) The Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center (LHCLCC) became the 60th branch of the Queens Borough Public Library (QBPL) in 1987. The LHCLCC was originally opened in 1969 and located at 102-109 Northern Boulevard in 1969. However, when federal funding cuts in the 1980s threatened its survival, the OBPL made the LHCLCC its 60th branch operating entirely from city funds. Relocated to 100-101 Northern Boulevard in 1987, the LHCLCC houses the biggest circulating Black Heritage collection in New York City. The collection totals more than 30,000 volumes of material pertaining to Black culture, including books, periodicals, theses and dissertations, VHS videos, cassettes, compact discs, photographs, paintings, sculpture and other works. The collection focuses on African Americans from West Africa, South America, Canada, the Caribbean and the U.S.
The LHCLCC Black Heritage collection is funded by a special grant from the New York State Legislature that is renewed annually. The LHCLCC is a two story structure with a lower level and outside courtyard. In addition to the Black Heritage Room, the LHCLCC also encompasses a Homework Assistance Program Room, a climate controlled vault housing archival materials and the Langston Hughes Art Collection. There is also an auditorium that seats 250 people, a conference room and the Langston Hughes Gallery. There are a number of features for visitors to the LHCLCC, including nearly three dozen computer terminals, an audio-visual projection booth, a galley kitchen, a number of restrooms and an elevator. There are also two sculptures out of wood by Ousmane Gueye, which were commissioned by the Percent for Art Program of the New York City Department for Cultural Affairs.
The LHCLCC is extremely valuable to all individuals interested in African American heritage, but is especially designed to provide assistance for African American readers, historians, scholars, researchers, stud...