Linda Bannerman-Martin

Bio

Linda Bannerman-Martin is Curator of the Black Heritage Reference Center of the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center on Northern Boulevard in Corona, New York. The collection she oversees consists of some 30,000 books, tapes, and microfilms dealing with virtually all aspects of Black life. Linda received her Masters in Library Science from the State University of New York at Buffalo. A former Social Worker, she chose to become a librarian because the field offered her opportunities not available elsewhere. Linda has been associated with the Library since 1993, beginning as General Assistant Librarian with primary focus given to Children’s services. Her curatorial responsibilities include coordinating the library’s literature programs for adults, and managing the non-fiction and fiction collections of the reference. Linda attended graduate school on a fellowship provided by the New York State Education Department (renamed the Arthur Alphonso Schomburg Graduate Fellowship Program.) The fellowship was designed to increase the number of minority librarians. The library plans to relocate Langston Hughes Library to a new and better location near its present site. Linda is active in many professional associations, among them…the American Library Association and Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Linda Bannerman-Martin is the second of four girls born to the late Annie and Robert Wright. She is a Gemini. Linda is the mother of two sons. She and her family reside in the Bronx, New York.