About the Collection

The John Hope Franklin Collection is a repository for African and African-American studies documentation and an educational outreach division of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University.

Founded in November 1995 with the support of its namesake, the distinguished historian John Hope Franklin, the Collection seeks to collect, preserve, and promote the use of library materials bearing on the history of Africa and people of African descent.

The Franklin Collection is committed to preserving and making available pertinent printed and manuscript materials for the use of scholars, academic researchers, and others.

The Collection embraces the additional charge of working to make primary source materials an exciting and integral part of instruction and discovery at the secondary and collegiate levels.