Honoring Black Heritage and Legacy in Savannah
Live Oak Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
Live Oak Public Library operates two branches built with underwriting from the Carnegie Corporation. One, a white-marbled, neoclassical building with grand Iconic columns, opened in 1916 with public funds to serve white people. The other, a beautiful Prairie Style building, opened in 1914 as the Library for Colored Citizens, one of two Carnegie libraries built for Georgia’s African Americans, thanks to the vision and financial backing of leading Black Savannahians. Despite being an oasis for the Black community, the building suffered periods of neglect. Tropical Storm Debby created a unique opportunity to reclaim Carnegie’s importance to Black Savannahians. In 2026, Savannah’s first Carnegie Library was reimagined and restored to preserve its past and protect its future as a cultural hub, protector of truth and history for African Americans and all lovers of public libraries. It operates today with renewed purpose as the Carnegie Library Heritage Center.
Challenge/Opportunity
Already scheduled for restoration, Carnegie suffered water intrusion from Tropical Storm Debby in August 2024, forcing its closure. While cost and repairs were reassessed, LOPL’s executive director had time to rethink Carnegie’s mission. It had suffered off and on from years of neglect and underfunding. Neighborhood gentrification meant declining visitation.
The challenge: a new vision for Carnegie honoring its history & reenergizing it as a hub for community, culture and learning; gaining trust of skeptical Black community members for whom the Library holds great meaning and sentiment; winning support to convert a circulating library to a special collections' library, restoring a historic building with limited budget and strict preservation regulations; telling the unvarnished history of Carnegie’s 112-years; defying national trend of erasing stories of Black Americans and including it in American history.
Key Elements of Innovation
• Structure: circulating library recast as special collections library
• Implementation:
o Formed advisory group of prominent Savannah African Americans; some grew up visiting Carnegie, to shape vision and serve as community ambassadors
o Input from African American staff; some grew up in segregated Savannah
o Restored building with local architect, GMShay; experienced in historic buildings
o Added new staff: special collections librarian (recruited from the National Archives) & archivist
o Rebuilding collection, programs & events and inviting the community to create oral histories, donate digital and physical materials
• Goals:
o Ensure stories & history of people of color are not erased
o Preserve & grow a dynamic community hub
o Preserve landmark historical institution
o Restore community trust and pride
o Create national African American culture/history tourism destination
Achieved Outcomes
Joyous Black History Month 2026 opening; on time/under budget: elected officials, trustees, faith community, Libation performer, drumline & choir from HBCU Savannah State University. National Gordian Job Order Contracting 2025 Merit Award winner: best practices, innovation & community impact.
o Metrics: Visits, program quality, partnerships, collection
o Feedback: Positive! Teary locals revisiting childhood library; 5000+ in first 6 months
o Partners: ASALH Yamacraw, Sav. Municipal Archives, Ossabaw Isl. Foundation, Deep Center Freedom School, SSU Archives, Beach Center, Kiah House, Hindsight Film Festival
o Cookbook archive collab. with baker Cheryl Day; featured in upcoming Emmy-winning docuseries
o Short list: Black Pulitzer Prize winner’s archive
o In “Explore Voices of Colored Libraries in Segregated America, an ArcGIS StoryMap by Rodney Freeman, (“Are You a Librarian?”)
o Civil rights leaders archives/stories
o Ch. of Comm. Sav. Black Heritage Experience
o Trolley Tour in '27
