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Collection Development Manual > Libraries & Collections > Special Collections > Black Resource Collection

Black Resource Collection

Collection Policy

Multnomah County Library's Black Resource Collection is located at the North Portland Library. Materials in this collection are interfiled with the general collection and are identified by a blue dot on the spine or other visible area.

The Black Resource Collection offers materials relating to the African-American experience, as well as works by African Americans and other people of African descent. Materials are purchased in various formats, including books, DVDs, videos, CDs, audio tapes, magazines, and newspapers. There are currently over 7,000 items in the collection. The collection includes fiction and non-fiction for juvenile through adult users. Materials for kindergarten through 12th grade students form a significant part of the collection.

A special feature is the 385-volume Fisk University Collection, which contains reprints from the Fisk University Library Negro Collection. Available nowhere else in Oregon, these reprints are significant historical works written by African-American authors between 1800 and 1930.

While most items in the Black Resource Collection may be checked out, some reference materials, such as the Fisk University Collection, must be used in the Center.