In 1981, Detroit Mayor Coleman Young visited the Divie B. Duffield Branch Library. His visit and the physical improvements to the Duffield Branch marked a series of successful renewal efforts that revitalized the library as a community institution for local Northwest Goldberg residents.
Jim Evenhuis, Duffield Branch Library manager from 1975-1984, recalls Young’s visit vividly: “The mayor got up and said, ‘As Detroit is rising from the ashes, so the Duffield Library is also rising from the ashes to become a vital and essential part of the community.’ ”
The events enabling this resurrection were in large part due to Evenhuis' working with the Friends of the Duffield Branch Library. The group is a small grassroots organization of community leaders that continues to support the Northwest Goldberg neighborhood today.
The Friends of the Duffield Branch Library was founded in 1978 by Albert Mallory. Working with area residents, Mallory, along with Evenhuis, constructed programs that established Duffield as a part of the neighborhood fabric. These initiatives, observes Evenhuis, also brought the library back from the brink of shutting down.
“When I went to the Duffield Branch in 1975, it was at a very low ebb,” he says. “Clara Jones, the library director, was certainly considering the possibility of closing the branch because it was being used so little."
To prevent this, Evenhuis reached out to Mallory in order to draw residents to the library’s resources.
“In the spring of 1976, we applied for and received a United Community Services grant to fund an eight-week, daily summer program that included recreation, education and nutrition," says Evenhuis.
That summer, Duffield began hosting outdoor games, arts and crafts in the morning, followed by cold lunches provided through the Department of Health. Afternoon activities centered inside the library, using the materials and encouraging children to take them home.
“This continued on through the summer, and the contacts with the community with persons of all ages just grew and solidified.”
Evenhuis and Mallory went on to expand Duffield's outreach. Reading motivation sessions invited local elementary and middle school teachers to bring their classes to Duffield to promote its resources. Saturday education and entertainment programs drew neighborhood residents to enjoy films, magic acts and talent shows. Duffield also provided extension services to local nursing homes, mental-care institutions and schools when winter weather made field trips arduous.
“These initiatives brought people to the library and built the library as part of the community family,” Evenhuis explains. “People looked on Duffield just as they did their church or school. It became a most integral part of the community.”
Glenn Stephenson, current president of the Friends of Duffield Branch Library, remembers "going up to the library just about every Saturday as a child." A native of Northwest Goldberg, Stephenson seeks to rekindle the progress of his predecessors.
“I want to continue the legacy of Duffield being a central part of the community,” Stephenson says. “We want it to act as a kind of conduit for uniting other community organizations, to join with them in making the community better.”
One example of Mallory's continuing legacy took place this February 2, when the 21st Annual Black Heroes Essay and Oratorical Contest was hosted at Duffield. Eight finalists ranging from third to eighth grade were awarded certificates for essays they read aloud before parents, teachers and community members.
Looking ahead, Stephenson plans to offer basic computer training courses to help community residents take advantage of Duffield's 14 computers.
Juanita Newton, a veteran community activist who acts as vice president for the Friends of Duffield, is actively soliciting volunteers for the program.
“We are recruiting retired teachers, college students and anyone else who could train elementary students on the computers and for math and writing,” Newton says.
Newton also hopes to be able to start a summer program this year that will offer lunches, a double-dutch jump rope group, gardening and lectures on topics that will benefit the community.
“We want to have workshops that would address nutrition, communicable diseases, safety for children and identity-theft prevention,” she says. The Friends of Duffield holds its regular meetings at 5:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month. Alternatively, Stephenson or Newton can be contacted through the library.