Vivian Harsh, Adult Education, and the Library’s Role as Community Center

Vivian Harsh, director of the Hall Library in Chicago from 1932 to 1958, took a pioneering approach toward adult education and the library’s role as community center. Harsh incorporated her active African American community into her library’s educational and social planning, taking advantage of the library’s location in Bronzeville, her extensive social ties, and the Chicago Black Renaissance to get her patrons involved. Harsh’s work is more remarkable because of the vivid contrasts between her successful approach to library science and that of other librarians of her time period.