Bibliographical Control of Afro-American Literature, Volume 1: Papers Presented at a Conference Page: 82 of 309
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72
impressive size. The Spingarn collection represented the product of a
global search which spanned a period of 35 years or more.
Speaking at Howard University in 1937 on methods that he observed in
collecting a personal library on Afro-American literature, Spingarn noted that,
if one is concerned with gathering materials by as well as about black people,
particularly where some of the earlier works are concerned, he or she might
have difficulty in determining racial identity. Standards of what makes a
person black differ widely in parts of the world, he noted. In other words, he
is saying that an ounce of black blood makes one black in this country, but not
necessarily so in another country.
In countries and periods of-time where race prejudice was not contagious
and not a way of life as it is, and has been, in the United States, the determi-
nation of racial identity may be difficult, if not impossible. Of those cele-
brated persons who were claimed to be of Negro extraction, though definite
proof was lacking, there were Aesop, Terrence, Browning, Timrod, Audubon,
and Hamilton. Spingarn believed that one need not dwell on doubtful names when
acquiring Afro-American literature, when attempting to confirm one's interest
in such literature, or when attempting to attract scholars to the collections
that have been acquired. His collection of books and pamphlets represented the 5
works of some 2,000 people who lived their lives as black people. Even with this
number of persons represented, Spingarn concluded that his collection was far
from complete.
As he acquired Afro-American materials, Spingarn kept in mind that, at
that time, there was little knowledge available on the volume of black literature
beyond the United States, though not suggesting that full bibliographical control
of that published within the United States had been attained. He made efforts
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Totten, Herman L. Bibliographical Control of Afro-American Literature, Volume 1: Papers Presented at a Conference, book, 1976; [Eugene, Oregon]. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc31167/m1/82/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT College of Information.