The E. Azalia Hackley Collection of Negro Music, Dance and Drama

The E. Azalia Hackley Collection of Negro Music, Dance and Drama was established in 1943 when original materials were presented to the Detroit Public Library by the Detroit Musicians Association to serve as the nucleus for a special black music collection. The first of its kind in the world, the Hackley Collection, named after a Detroit music educator and performer, quickly broadened its scope to include dance, drama and other forms of the performing arts.

Many rare books, manuscripts and archives of performing artists are available to serious researchers. The archives include materials on organizations such as the Motown Recording Company, the National Association of Negro Musicians, on dancers Rael Lamb and Lavinia Williams, singer Roland Hayes and many other concert and opera singers.

The Photographic and Print Collection contains items dating from the mid-19th century to the present, including portraits of performers, organizations, vocal and instrumental groups and still photographs from black films and stage productions. Among the many rare items in the collection are an original photograph of the Fiske Jubilee Singers and a large collection of photographs of prominent black performers by Carl van Vechten.

The Recorded Sound Collection contains music either performed or composed by black musicians. Documenting the development of black music, recordings include African chant, Negro spirituals, ragtime, jazz, gospel, opera, orchestral music, soul and rhythm & blues. Hundreds of examples of "popular music," produced in the middle to late 19th century and based on Negro themes, are similarly preserved in the Sheet Music Collection, along with contemporary "popular music" composed and performed by black musicians.

The Hackley Collection provides both current and historical information. Under the auspices of the Music and Performing Arts Department, a general reference collection of books, periodicals and musical scores is available to the general public and researchers. It is augmented by a vertical file collection of over 250,000 items. Although the materials in the Hackley Collection are designated "reference" (non-circulating), many items in the book and record collections have been duplicated for circulation to library users. Not all materials appear in LUIS, the library's online catalog. Card catalogs, card indexes and finding lists help to locate specific items. To gain access to the materials in the special collection, advance arrangements must be made with the curator.

Manager: Agatha Kalkanis. Location: Main Library, third floor.
Hours: Closed Sunday & Monday. Tuesday,
Thursday-Saturday, 9:30 am-5:30 pm, Wednesday, 1-9 pm.
Phone: 313-833-1460. Fax: 313-833-5039.
E-mail: akalkan@detroit.lib.mi.us