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Puerto Rican–born black scholar and bibliophile Arturo Alfonso Schomburg curated this important library—a national research center devoted to collecting and preserving documents that reflect the experiences of people of African descent throughout the world—until his death is 1938. The center’s collection first won acclaim in 1926, and since then, it has grown to more than 5 million items, including manuscripts, recorded sound, photographs and prints. It’s a truly unique New York institution.