THE WEST New library will house history of blacks

DENVER (AP) -- The first library to highlight the experience of blacks in the West will open April 26 in a neighborhood that resonates with the history of the group.
The $16 million project will be part of the Denver Public Library and will be located in the Five Points area. It is a neighborhood known for its jazz, bars and theaters.
The 40,000-square-foot building includes a full-size library on the first floor, a research library on the second floor with unprecedented access to historical documents, and a museum on the third floor with numerous displays.
Other black libraries in New York and Atlanta focus on black history in the East and South. A library that recently opened in Florida chronicles the Caribbean influence.
Black history in Colorado and the West has been handed down orally through generations. The new library and museum will tell the role of blacks who helped found Denver and other cities, as well as the Buffalo Soldiers who fought American Indians on the plains.
"This will be a tremendous base of history not only of Denver, but of Colorado and the region," said Denver librarian Terry Nelson. "It is a brand-new resource of history that is important, particularly for the children."
One display will show how blacks worked with Spanish explorers as scouts to settle the West. The history of the black Seminole Indians' migration from Florida to Oklahoma also will be highlighted.
"Many African-Americans came to the West for freedom and opportunity, just like other people," said city librarian Gwen Crenshaw.