Guelph Black Heritage Society is honouring one of its former members with a new library in her name.
This fall, residents will be able to check out books and resources from the Flora Francis Memorial Library, located at the Heritage Hall on Essex Street. It will feature hundreds of items written by Black authors, browse through Black literature and find books which are culturally, historically and socially significant to the Black community.
Denise Francis, president and treasurer of Guelph Black Heritage Society, said they are excited to be offering this library for residents.
“This is a passion project of mine because I knew Flora,” said Francis, mentioning she was one of the founding board members of the GBHS and a former librarian at the University of Guelph.
Migrating to Guelph from Trinidad in the 60s, Francis recalls Flora having a passion for reading and sharing Black authors, especially of authors of Caribbean descent.
“She wanted to promote the Caribbean community, and I think those books with that connection are the most meaningful to me and to others,” said Francis.
“As a board member, she supported us sharing our Black heritage and Black culture.”
When Flora passed away, Francis said her family donated a portion of her books from her personal collection, forming what was the start of the library.
“We have purchased, and have had other donations, of other resources since, but it was her donation to the GBHS that started the idea for us to have a library,” she said, “and we thought of nothing better than to dedicate this space to her in her name and in the Heritage Hall.”
The idea has been in the works since 2019, when the society received funding for the Heritage Hall renovations. For the library, the society had custom-made bookshelves made and used wood salvaged from the renovation to create a desk and side tables.
“They were made with the reclaimed wood from the 1800s, so that brings the old in with the new and that makes it really special,” said Francis.
With funding from community partners, GBHS invested in a management system and will also have an online catalogue available for residents to browse through. Currently, GBHS is organizing its volunteers to operate the library for one to two days a week.
“Just like a regular library, you’ll have a membership, which is free to the community and you can take resources out for three weeks at a time,” she said.
"By starting this initiative, just hope that it continues better relations with the community and we hope they learn about the Black community.”
The GBHS plans to open the library on Sept. 25 and will be holding an opening day event for the new space and for the Heritage Hall as it will be open to the public after Labour Day. The opening event includes a ribbon-cutting ceremony, a moment of silence and performances by a spoken word poet, and musicians Verese Vassell-Bowen and Sammy Duke.
“We also invited some of Flora’s family members and hope to have them there for the opening which is on September 25,” said Francis.
On that day, Francis adds the GBHS will also be conducting tours through the library between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
“We have to see based on COVID restrictions how many people we can allow at a time, but that’s why we allowed for a four hour window.”
Francis adds if Flora was here to see the library, she would be pleased but unsure of how to react with the library in her name.
"She was a modest person ... but we knew the impact she had on our community."
To learn more about the Flora Francis Memorial Library, go to guelphblackheritage.ca.
