Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, one of The New York Public Library’s renowned research libraries, is a world-leading cultural institution devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences.

To learn about the Center’s research divisions, schedule an appointment, or find out about other services, see our resources for researchers. Please note: Division hours may vary.

Explore our exhibitions Been Seen and Boundless: 10 Years of Seeding Black Comic Futures. Both are open 10 AM—5:30 PM, Monday to Saturday. Plus, see our outdoor banner exhibition, We Were Beautiful Then, Too: Late 19th Century African American Cabinet Cards at St. Nicholas Park in Harlem. 

Visit the Schomburg Shop to see clothing, jewelry, and books for all ages created by Black and Brown artists. It's open Tuesday to Saturday 11 AM—5:45 PM. The Shop will be closed for inventory Thursday, June 30 through Saturday, July 2.

Though there are no guided tours at this time, we are working diligently to restore this key service to visitors in summer 2022. Please continue to check this page and the Schomburg Tours page for updates and more information.

Masks are strongly recommended in the Schomburg Center and all NYPL locations. 

M. Scott Johnson, a visual arts instructor with the Center’s Junior Scholars Program, had a challenge. How could he display the paintings of his students in the Center’s American Negro Theatre when there was already a current exhibition using the space and had pictures on the walls?

Inspired by his showing at the 59th Venice Biennale and Afro Haitian spiritual ceremonies, Johnson and his students displayed the one-day exhibition, Invasion, on the floor. By engaging the work through a new space, visitors could see the work through an overhead, encompassing perspective as they moved around the room. Learn more.

M. Scott Johnson, a visual arts and curatorial studies instructor with the Center’s Junior Scholars Program, is one of the artists featured in the 59th Venice Biennale, an invitation-only art exhibition in Italy. Find out the materials in the Center’s collections that inspired his triptych, The Metamorphosis of High John the Conqueror: Tribute to an Afrofuturist Deity. Learn more. 

Our fourth annual Schomburg Center Literary Festival on June 18 continued the Center's long tradition of championing authors of African descent from across the globe and publications that celebrate Black history and culture.

Participating writers included Jason Reynolds (Stunt Boy, Miles Morales: Spider-Man, Patina, Ghost) and Roxane Gay (Hunger, Bad Feminist, Difficult Women), and many more.

Pre-festival programming included “Critical Thought: An Evening of Selected Works by Greg Tate” and “The Black Librarian in America: Reflections, Resistance, and Reawakening.” Both are available to view online. All Literary Festival programs will be available to view at a later date.  Learn more.

Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation is the Lead Sponsor of the Schomburg Center Literary Festival. Major sponsorship support is provided by Corbin Capital Partners, L.P.