The resources necessary for the scholarship of XULA students are too expansive for our library to collect alone. Sharing resources with other HBCUs through the HBCU Library Alliance enhances our library’s ability to provide students with the varied materials they need to conduct meaningful research. In-kind, we share our resources, collections, and knowledge with scholars at other HBCUs.

The HBCU Library Alliance is a vital organization that contributes to the work we do at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) Library (and Archives) in northeastern North Carolina. Since I began my position at ECSU as University Archivist, I have witnessed the incredible support that the HBCU Library Alliance has given us and the difference it has made to our daily work, employees’ morale, and completion of large projects.

Based on my experience as an HBCU Library Alliance intern and the ways it prepared me to work on historical projects in my professional life after graduating from Claflin University, I know that HBCU students who are interested in pursuing careers in historic preservation will gain the skills they need to preserve the stories of those who make up their institutions’ past.