The holdings in this Harlem public library are built around the collection of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a black Puerto Rican scholar and bibliophile who died in 1938. Over the years, his core collection of books, manuscripts, art objects, film and sheet music has grown to more than 5 million items related to the history and culture of people of African descent and is now an important research tool for scholars. The General Reference & Research division is open Monday-Wednesday noon-8 pm, Thursday and Friday 11 am-6 pm, Saturday 10 am-5 pm. Call ahead to make an appointment to visit the Moving Image & Recorded Sound division and the Art and Artifact Collection. 515 Malcolm X Blvd., at 135th Street (subway line 2 or 3 to 135th Street), Manhattan, New York City. Phone 212-491-2200. http://www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html.
