1324 Jefferson Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14208 Map
716-883-4418

Completed in 2006, this impressive, 20,000 square foot facility is located at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Utica Street . The Library is Wheelchair accessible and has 35 parking spaces. Black and white copies are available at 15 cents each. There is a Radio Receiver for the visually impaired.

Public Access Computers: 47 computers, networked (printing 10 cents B&W per page) Microsoft Office Applications, Internet Access, Misc. "What can I do at a Public Access Computer?" The location features a state-of-the-art, technology training lab with 12 computers.

The building features a 150-seat auditorium. Use of the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Branch Library Auditorium is intended for activities conducted or sponsored by the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library and secondarily, for organizations engaged in educational, cultural, intellectual or charitable activities of interest and/or benefit to the community.

PLEASE NOTE: Formal application for the use of the auditorium is made with library management. An individual repsonsible for the meeting must complete and sign an application form and return it to the library for review and approval. Applications should be filed with the Frank E. Merriweather Branch not less than 4 weeks in advance of the event. Action on any application will require two (2) weeks for evaluation. Applicants will be notified of confirmation or rejection by mail.
Auditorium Application (PDF)
Auditorium Rules (PDF)

What's Special About the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Library

Uncrowned Queens Affiliate

The Merriweather Library became the First-in-the-Nation Uncrowned Queens Institute Affiliate on Saturday, October 4, 2008. The library will soon be home to an Uncrowned Community Builders Technology site which will allow individuals to send biographies, photos and audio messages directly to the Uncrowned Queens webpage. To learn more, visit http://wings.buffalo.edu/uncrownedqueens/C/index.html

DESIGN
Architect Robert Traynham Coles' striking circular design, with its interconnected interior spaces, is intended to suggest an African Village . The library features an African American Resource Room, adult and youth reading rooms, a technology training lab, auditorium, parking lot and an African motif in the block facade. The building replaces the nearly 80-year-old North Jefferson Branch Library and has been renamed after Frank E. Merriweather, Jr., editor and publisher of The Criterion newspaper, the oldest minority newspaper in upstate New York.

William A. Miles Center for African and African-American Studies
William A. Miles Center for African and African-American Studies, the largest resource center in Western New York for information on African American history. This unique and outstanding collection was established in 1965 by now-retired B&ECPL Assistant Deputy Director William A. Miles, and in 1975, the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier began to incorporate microfilms of primary source material on the history of African Americans in the Western New York area.

In addition to the numerous books, microfilm and flat pictures, the collection has several specialized databases and has now acquired a new resource that makes Black Studies research more convenient and robust.  The microfiche Schomburg Clipping File contains more than 9,000 records that preserve and document important accomplishments in the African American experience.

The Schomburg Clipping File mirrors the black experience, not only in North America, but worldwide. Essentially a periodical and newspaper clipping file, this unique collection also includes typescripts, broadsides, pamphlets, programs, book reviews, menus and various other short publications dealing with black history and culture. An important source for research into all aspects of black activities and accomplishments, the file brings together a huge diversity of material organized by subject and totaling almost a million pages not duplicated elsewhere.

The collection is international in scope including countries in Africa and others not normally associated with black culture such as Italy, Russia and Japan. Easy to use and suitable both for ready reference queries or in-depth research, the Schomburg Clipping File is a valuable and unusual research tool for the study of the African American experience.

Additional Resource
The Afro American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier works to preserve historical sources that pertain to Afro-Americans in Western New York and to promote research and scholarship that has to do with the life and history of Afro-Americans in New York State. Visit their website at http://www.aahanf.org/

Opening Doors
Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons Opening Doors celebrates the contributions of African American academic surgeons to medicine and medical education. It tells the stories of four pioneering African American surgeons and educators who exemplify excellence in their fields and believe in continuing the journey of excellence through the education and mentoring of younger physicians and surgeons. Read More.

Learn more about the dedication and renaming of this center...

THANK YOU
The Library extends a special thank-you to The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation for its generous support of this project. A $250,000 grant awarded by The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation in 2002 has provided furnishings and equipment for the African American Resource Room and technology training lab, as well as the original artwork from Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folk Tales, which is on display in the new library.

The Library also acknowledges donations from the Afro-American Police Association (A.A.P.A), the Black Firefighters' Association, Members of Color Helping All (M.O.C.H.A), and, of course, the continuing contributions of the Friends of the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr. Library

Planned in conjunction with Darwin: The Origin of Influence exhibit at the Central Library. November 9, 2009 - February 12, 2010 Young Scientists (Ages 6-10) Thursdays at 6:00 PM Registration is required ... Please call the library! We've got Chemistry! December 3rd • It's Just a Phase! When an ice cube melts or we boil water to make steam, what's happening? It's still all water, but how can it look so different? Come investigate what really happens when a chemical changes phases. We will conduct experiments with solids, liquids, and gasses. December 10th • Inside-Out Chemistry Inside our bodies, there are millions of chemicals doing many different jobs like digesting food, transmitting messages to your brain, and helping you move your muscles. But some chemicals can hurt us if they get in our bodies. Can you think of any? Come and play some fun chemistry games today! December 17th • Oceanic Chemistry After looking at chemistry on a small scale, let's go HUGE. Ancient oceans had the perfect chemical blend for the first life forms to develop. But, one secret ingredient came from the sky. Can you guess what it was? Join us as we conduct some salt-water experiments!     Young Explorers (ages 3-5) Fridays at 4:00 PM Registration is required ... Please call the library! Animal Crazy! December 4th • Hibernation Happenings Have you ever wondered why you don't see certain animals in the winter? Some animals, like bears and frogs, can sleep all winter long. Come to learn how and why animals sleep through the winter. December 11th • In the Dark Do you sometimes hear animals at night? Not all animals sleep at night like we do. Some of them sleep during the day and are awake all night. Why do you think they do this? Join us as we explore animals of the night. December 18th • Bird Bonanza Have you ever noticed that different birds eat different foods? Birds have special adaptations that allow them to live in different ways. Some birds are big and some are very small. Join us as we learn all about birds and how they live.

The next scheduled holiday for this location is Thursday, November 26, 2009 (Thanksgiving Day).

*Summer hours run from Memorial Day Weekend UNTIL Labor Day.