Hallie Beachem Brooks

Hallie Beachem Brooks (1907–1985) was a prominent African-American librarian, educator, and academic who worked to advance literacy and educational opportunities for African-Americans. She was a Professor of Library Science at Atlanta University, published numerous book reviews, and mentored African-American library students.

Education Brooks earned a certificate from the Indiana State Public Library Training Course in 1924. She was also at this time the librarian to the Atlanta University Laboratory Elementary School and enrolled as a summer student at the University of Chicago. From 1942 to 1944, she directed a library field service program funded by the Carnegie Corporation, which offered resources and consultation to southern regional libraries seeking to improve their coverage and services to African-Americans.

In 1946, Brooks was promoted to a full-time position at Atlanta University. In 1954, Brooks went on sabbatical, and spent some of her time touring and learning from European libraries and presses. In 1983, she was awarded Emerita status.

Publications A description of Negro news-stand magazines and an analysis of the contents of a selected number of Negro magazines. MA Thesis. 1946. The role of the library in improving education in the South; papers. 1965: Atlanta University. (OCoLC)609447924 Lovers of Freedom Will Be Free. Book Review, "Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates; Stories of the Underground Railroad by Anna L. Curtis". Phylon, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1951. DOI: 10.2307/272330 Play Songs of the Deep South by Altona Trent Johns. Book Review. Phylon, Vol. 6, No. 2 (2nd Qtr, 1945), p. 193 Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin. Book Review. Phylon, Vol. 21, No. 3 (3rd Qtr., 1960), pp. 296–297 Meet North Africa by John Gunther, Sam Epstein, Beryl Epstein. Book Review. The Phylon Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 2 (2nd Qtr, 1958), p. 237 The First Book of Negroes by Langston Hughes. Book Review. Phylon, Vol. 14, No. 3 (3rd Qtr, 1953), pp. 343–344 A Look down the Lonesome Road: What a Liberal Living amid Segregationists Can Do, Say and Accomplish by Ralph Creger, Erwin McDonald. Book Review. Phylon, Vol. 25, No. 4 (4th Qtr, 1964), pp. 414–415 Belafonte: An Unauthorized Biography by Arnold Shaw. Book Review. Phylon, Vol. 21, No. 3 (3rd Qtr, 1960), pp. 294–296 Oral History Interview, recording of Hallie Beachem Brooks by E. Bernard West.