John Hope & Aurelia E. Franklin Library
The John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library is Fisk University’s academic library, built in 1969 and opening in 1970. With a collection exceeding 260,000 volumes, it serves as the central hub for research and instruction across disciplines.
Located on the 2nd floor, the library’s Special Collections and Archives features rare materials and archives of national importance, including manuscripts from W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Charles W. Chesnutt, Fisk Jubilee Singers, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and an extensive Black Oral History Collection—more than 800 taped interviews—making it a cornerstone for African American history research