Finding Aids: PVAMU Special Collections and Archives : The John B. Coleman Library Collection

Creator: John B. Coleman Library Staff

Title of Collection: The John B. Coleman Library Collection

Dates: 1990-2023

Extent: 26 boxes

Abstract: The John B. Coleman Library Collection consists of administrative documents from the 1990s to the present. From creative programs to Special Collections and Archives materials, the Coleman Library collections holds many memories of the efforts made to improve student’s success through the power of education.

Biographical Note: Between 1988-2005, the John B. Coleman Library accumulated over 300,000 volumes, including over 800 active print periodicals, and close to 4,000 media materials. The library has access to 16,000 electronic periodicals and about 150 resource databases (many with full text), and about 35,000 electronic books. Additionally, the Library is a Federal Document Depository and holds 1,700 government documents with electronic access to many additional titles. Information is provided at several public service points in the library, including the Reference Desk, Circulation Desk and the Periodicals Center on the first floor. The Periodicals Service Center houses periodicals, reports, and newspapers in hard copy and microfilm. The library is fully automated with workstations available for public use for access to the Internet, and a fully integrated library technology system to support all library operations and technical services. Online Library also subscribes to several online full-text databases that are available from off-campus locations. Reserve materials, and audio-visual media and equipment are available at the Circulation Desk. The Special Collections Department on the 5th floor houses unique collections, including the University Archives and rare book collections. The Delco and African American Art Gallery occupies the 4th floor of the library.

The Story of John B. Coleman

Dr. John B. Coleman was a Houston, Texas physician who became the first African American appointed to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in 1977. He was a graduate of Jack Yates High School in Houston, Fisk University in Nashville, TN, and Howard University School of Medicine. After medical school, Dr. Coleman returned to Houston and entered private practice in 1962. He started an appointment as the Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Riverside General Hospital. During his long career, Dr. Coleman was a force in Houston politics, and served as Chair of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), Houston Division. An advocate of higher education, Dr. Coleman was a staunch supporter of Prairie View A&M University and was instrumental in Prairie View receiving a share of the Permanent University Fund, which had previously only been distributed to Texas A&M at College Station, and the University of Texas at Austin. In recognition of his long service to the Texas A&M University System Board and support for higher education at traditionally Black Universities in Texas, the Board of Regents voted on July 22, 1988, to name Prairie View’s “new” five-story Library in honor of Dr. John B. Coleman.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the John B. Coleman Library – 1986

Plans for the John B. Coleman Library at Prairie View A&M University were conceived and developed in 1983-1984. The Groundbreaking Services for the “new library building” were held on July 18, 1986. Mr. Robert Wedgeworth, then Dean of the Columbia University Library School, and former Executive Director of the American Library Association (ALA) was the keynote speaker. The construction of the “new” library was completed at an estimated cost of 17 million dollars, and all library services and materials moved in 1988, during the Presidency of Dr. Percy Pierre, and forty-two years after the dedication of the W.R. Banks library. On July 22, 1988, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted unanimously to name the new library in honor of Dr. John B.Coleman, the first black regent on the Texas A&M Board of Regents. Library records indicate that Dr. Adele Dendy (1987- 1991) was the Director of Library Services and coordinated the opening of the new library.

Sources:

Prairie View A&M University. “About John B. Coleman”. https://www.pvamu.edu/library/about-the-library/about-john-b-coleman/

"Founding of the John B. Coleman Library from 1988.” https://www.pvamu.edu/library/about-the-library/history-of-the-library-at-prairie-view/founding-of-the-john-b-coleman-library/

“Library 25th Anniversary”. https://www.pvamu.edu/library/about-the-library/history-of-the-library-at-prairie-view/library-25th-anniversary/

Arrangement: The arrangement is compiled into two series to identify important moments in the John B. Coleman Library history:

Series One: John B. Coleman Library, 1992-2014

Sub-series One: Library Administrative Files & Events, 1980-2010

Series Two: Special Collection and Archive Files, 2008-

Identification: UA 0077

Repository: Special Collections/Archives Department, John B. Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University

Complied by: Evelyn Davis, March 2024