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1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 84 (from laksa017)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa084.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/books/review/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/books/review/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/28\/books\/review\/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html","crawl_time":1773132263,"first_indexed_time":1756372301,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,nytimes!www,\/2025\/08\/28\/books\/review\/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html s443","src_root_hash":"4566504020376537684","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Joy Bivins on Her Favorite Books and the Schomburg Center’s Centennial - The New York Times","meta_descriptions":["But there is a place for the Bible, says the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is celebrating its centennial."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Credit...\nRebecca Clarke\nBy the Book\nBut there is a place for the Bible, says the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is celebrating its centennial.\nCredit...\nRebecca Clarke\nIn an email interview, she was thankful for the “oxygen” that working at the library has provided — and for bringing her to know the poet Sonia Sanchez. SCOTT HELLER\nWhat books are on your night stand?\nOn my dresser are “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear, “Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy,” by Robie Rogge and Dian G. Smith, and the Bible (New International Version). I try not to have books directly related to work in my rest space. And, I was raised in a home where Bibles were readily available; it remains a very important book for me.\nWhat kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?\nI don’t think there was anything exceptional about my reading life as a child, except I was obsessed with really big words. My mother taught me to read before kindergarten by writing a book for me. I wish I could find it. I liked to read fairy tales but I also read Bible stories. Like I said, Bibles were around when I grew up.\nDescribe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).\nI like quiet, comfortable and preferably naturally lit spaces for reading. It doesn’t really matter much where, as long as those criteria are met.\nIt’s one thing to love books. It’s another to be at an institution whose reason for being is under attack. Did you count on being both?\nOne of the things that I’ve learned, especially through reading in the field of Black Studies, is that Black intellectual traditions are generally shaped in resistance. I don’t think that when you make your living celebrating and\/or centering communities that are often on the margins, you have the luxury of imagining that there won’t be periods of struggle. It is what makes the work important and what those who conceived the Schomburg remarkable.\nWhat’s a lesser known book from Arturo Schomburg’s original collection that more people should know about?\nHis incomplete\/unpublished cookbook probably surprises me most. However, it really shouldn’t be surprising that he thought foodways were an example of Black genius as much as any other cultural artifact.\nAt a centennial event, you said “it feels as though the words that have been critical to my own intellectual and emotional development have breath in this place.” Tell me what you mean.\nI was speaking to the importance of Schomburg to my own development beyond the fact that I am a staff member and leader. I have been involved in telling and\/or interpreting Black history for much of my career and this place has provided oxygen for others like me for a century.\nIs there a hidden spot inside the Schomburg you find particularly inspiring?\nIt’s not really hidden but, as a research library, our stacks are not public. When I tell you I could spend all my time there, I am not exaggerating. It really is inspiring to see volumes from all of the over the Black diaspora about EVERYTHING. It reminds me that information and knowledge are boundless. It inspires and humbles me.\nIf you could require New York’s next mayor to read one book, what would it be?\n“Strength to Love,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Transformative leadership, at the end of the day, requires love as a core value.\nWhat’s the last great book you read?\nI’ll name two. “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma,” by Bessel van der Kolk, and “Homegoing,” by Yaa Gyasi. I was late to “Homegoing” but found it extremely compelling.\nWhat’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?\nA good friend gave me Pema Chödrön’s “Comfortable With Uncertainty,\" and I found it extremely helpful during a particularly challenging phase in my life.\nHave you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book?\nI have yet to get in trouble for reading a book.\nYou’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?\nThis is tough, and at the risk of being somewhat predictable, I’d invite Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, who I never had the opportunity to meet, and Sonia Sanchez, who I have come to know and love since being at the Schomburg. I think this would be a mighty fine party.\nA version of this article appears in print on\nAug. 31, 2025\n, Page 4 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Joy Bivins\n.\nOrder Reprints\n|\nToday’s Paper\n|\nSubscribe\nAdvertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT","attrs_markdown":"[What to Read](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/books)\n\n- [Find Your Next Book](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/books\/what-to-read-next.html)\n- [Fantasy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/books\/fantasy-books.html)\n- [Science Fiction](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/books\/science-fiction-books.html)\n- [Thrillers](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/books\/thriller-books.html)\n- [Romance](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/books\/romance-books.html)\n\n![This is an illustration of Joy Bivins.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/31\/books\/review\/31ByTheBook-BIVINS\/31ByTheBook-BIVINS-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCredit...Rebecca Clarke\n\n[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/28\/books\/review\/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/28\/books\/review\/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#site-index)\n\nSearch & Section Navigation\n\nSection Navigation\n\nBy the Book\n\n# Joy Bivins Keeps Work- Related Books Away From Her ‘Rest Space’\nBut there is a place for the Bible, says the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is celebrating its centennial.\n\nCredit...Rebecca Clarke\n\nSupported by\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/28\/books\/review\/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#after-sponsor)\n\n- Share full article\n\n*In an email interview, she was thankful for the “oxygen” that working at the library has provided — and for bringing her to know the poet Sonia Sanchez. SCOTT HELLER*\n\n**What books are on your night stand?**\n\nOn my dresser are “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear, “Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy,” by Robie Rogge and Dian G. Smith, and the Bible (New International Version). I try not to have books directly related to work in my rest space. And, I was raised in a home where Bibles were readily available; it remains a very important book for me.\n\n**What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?**\n\nI don’t think there was anything exceptional about my reading life as a child, except I was obsessed with really big words. My mother taught me to read before kindergarten by writing a book for me. I wish I could find it. I liked to read fairy tales but I also read Bible stories. Like I said, Bibles were around when I grew up.\n\n**Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).**\n\nI like quiet, comfortable and preferably naturally lit spaces for reading. It doesn’t really matter much where, as long as those criteria are met.\n\n**It’s one thing to love books. It’s another to be at an institution whose reason for being is under attack. Did you count on being both?**\n\nOne of the things that I’ve learned, especially through reading in the field of Black Studies, is that Black intellectual traditions are generally shaped in resistance. I don’t think that when you make your living celebrating and\/or centering communities that are often on the margins, you have the luxury of imagining that there won’t be periods of struggle. It is what makes the work important and what those who conceived the Schomburg remarkable.\n\n**What’s a lesser known book from Arturo Schomburg’s original collection that more people should know about?**\n\nHis incomplete\/unpublished cookbook probably surprises me most. However, it really shouldn’t be surprising that he thought foodways were an example of Black genius as much as any other cultural artifact.\n\n**At a centennial event, you said “it feels as though the words that have been critical to my own intellectual and emotional development have breath in this place.” Tell me what you mean.**\n\nI was speaking to the importance of Schomburg to my own development beyond the fact that I am a staff member and leader. I have been involved in telling and\/or interpreting Black history for much of my career and this place has provided oxygen for others like me for a century.\n\n**Is there a hidden spot inside the Schomburg you find particularly inspiring?**\n\nIt’s not really hidden but, as a research library, our stacks are not public. When I tell you I could spend all my time there, I am not exaggerating. It really is inspiring to see volumes from all of the over the Black diaspora about EVERYTHING. It reminds me that information and knowledge are boundless. It inspires and humbles me.\n\n**If you could require New York’s next mayor to read one book, what would it be?**\n\n“Strength to Love,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Transformative leadership, at the end of the day, requires love as a core value.\n\n**What’s the last great book you read?**\n\nI’ll name two. “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma,” by Bessel van der Kolk, and “Homegoing,” by Yaa Gyasi. I was late to “Homegoing” but found it extremely compelling.\n\n**What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?**\n\nA good friend gave me Pema Chödrön’s “Comfortable With Uncertainty,\" and I found it extremely helpful during a particularly challenging phase in my life.\n\n**Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book?**\n\nI have yet to get in trouble for reading a book.\n\n**You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?**\n\nThis is tough, and at the risk of being somewhat predictable, I’d invite Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, who I never had the opportunity to meet, and Sonia Sanchez, who I have come to know and love since being at the Schomburg. I think this would be a mighty fine party.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on Aug. 31, 2025, Page 4 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Joy Bivins. [Order Reprints](https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY)\n\n- Share full article\n## Related Content\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/28\/books\/review\/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#after-bottom)\n## Site Index\n## Site Information Navigation\n- [© 2026 The New York Times Company](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014792127-Copyright-Notice)\n\n- [NYTCo](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/)\n- [Contact Us](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015385887-Contact-The-New-York-Times)\n- [Accessibility](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015727108-Accessibility)\n- [Work with us](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/careers\/)\n- [Advertise](https:\/\/advertising.nytimes.com\/)\n- [T Brand Studio](https:\/\/advertising.nytimes.com\/custom-content\/)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/10940941449492-The-New-York-Times-Company-Privacy-Policy)\n- [Cookie Policy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/privacy\/cookie-policy)\n- [Terms of Service](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893428-Terms-of-Service)\n- [Terms of Sale](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893968-Terms-of-Sale)\n- [Site Map](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/sitemap\/)\n- [Canada](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/ca\/)\n- [International](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/international\/)\n- [Help](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us)\n- [Subscriptions](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=37WXW)","attrs_readable_markdown":"![This is an illustration of Joy Bivins.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/31\/books\/review\/31ByTheBook-BIVINS\/31ByTheBook-BIVINS-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nCredit...Rebecca Clarke\n\nBy the Book\n\nBut there is a place for the Bible, says the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is celebrating its centennial.\n\nCredit...Rebecca Clarke\n\n*In an email interview, she was thankful for the “oxygen” that working at the library has provided — and for bringing her to know the poet Sonia Sanchez. SCOTT HELLER*\n\n**What books are on your night stand?**\n\nOn my dresser are “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear, “Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy,” by Robie Rogge and Dian G. Smith, and the Bible (New International Version). I try not to have books directly related to work in my rest space. And, I was raised in a home where Bibles were readily available; it remains a very important book for me.\n\n**What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?**\n\nI don’t think there was anything exceptional about my reading life as a child, except I was obsessed with really big words. My mother taught me to read before kindergarten by writing a book for me. I wish I could find it. I liked to read fairy tales but I also read Bible stories. Like I said, Bibles were around when I grew up.\n\n**Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how).**\n\nI like quiet, comfortable and preferably naturally lit spaces for reading. It doesn’t really matter much where, as long as those criteria are met.\n\n**It’s one thing to love books. It’s another to be at an institution whose reason for being is under attack. Did you count on being both?**\n\nOne of the things that I’ve learned, especially through reading in the field of Black Studies, is that Black intellectual traditions are generally shaped in resistance. I don’t think that when you make your living celebrating and\/or centering communities that are often on the margins, you have the luxury of imagining that there won’t be periods of struggle. It is what makes the work important and what those who conceived the Schomburg remarkable.\n\n**What’s a lesser known book from Arturo Schomburg’s original collection that more people should know about?**\n\nHis incomplete\/unpublished cookbook probably surprises me most. However, it really shouldn’t be surprising that he thought foodways were an example of Black genius as much as any other cultural artifact.\n\n**At a centennial event, you said “it feels as though the words that have been critical to my own intellectual and emotional development have breath in this place.” Tell me what you mean.**\n\nI was speaking to the importance of Schomburg to my own development beyond the fact that I am a staff member and leader. I have been involved in telling and\/or interpreting Black history for much of my career and this place has provided oxygen for others like me for a century.\n\n**Is there a hidden spot inside the Schomburg you find particularly inspiring?**\n\nIt’s not really hidden but, as a research library, our stacks are not public. When I tell you I could spend all my time there, I am not exaggerating. It really is inspiring to see volumes from all of the over the Black diaspora about EVERYTHING. It reminds me that information and knowledge are boundless. It inspires and humbles me.\n\n**If you could require New York’s next mayor to read one book, what would it be?**\n\n“Strength to Love,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Transformative leadership, at the end of the day, requires love as a core value.\n\n**What’s the last great book you read?**\n\nI’ll name two. “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma,” by Bessel van der Kolk, and “Homegoing,” by Yaa Gyasi. I was late to “Homegoing” but found it extremely compelling.\n\n**What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift?**\n\nA good friend gave me Pema Chödrön’s “Comfortable With Uncertainty,\" and I found it extremely helpful during a particularly challenging phase in my life.\n\n**Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book?**\n\nI have yet to get in trouble for reading a book.\n\n**You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?**\n\nThis is tough, and at the risk of being somewhat predictable, I’d invite Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, who I never had the opportunity to meet, and Sonia Sanchez, who I have come to know and love since being at the Schomburg. I think this would be a mighty fine party.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on Aug. 31, 2025, Page 4 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Joy Bivins. [Order Reprints](https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY)\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/28\/books\/review\/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#after-bottom)","meta_canonical":null}

3. Robots.txt Check

Query:

Response:

4. Spam/Ban Check

Query:

Response:

5. Seen Status Check

ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled

📄

INDEXABLE

✅

CRAWLED

1 month ago

🤖

ROBOTS ALLOWED

Page Info Filters

Filter	Status	Condition	Details
HTTP status	PASS	`download_http_code = 200`	HTTP 200
Age cutoff	PASS	`download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH`	1.3 months ago
History drop	PASS	`isNull(history_drop_reason)`	No drop reason
Spam/ban	PASS	`fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0`	ml_spam_score=0
Canonical	PASS	`meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed`	Not set

Page Details

Property	Value
URL	https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/books/review/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html
Last Crawled	2026-03-10 08:44:23 (1 month ago)
First Indexed	2025-08-28 09:11:41 (7 months ago)
HTTP Status Code	200
Meta Title	Joy Bivins on Her Favorite Books and the Schomburg Center’s Centennial - The New York Times
Meta Description	But there is a place for the Bible, says the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is celebrating its centennial.
Meta Canonical	null
Boilerpipe Text	Credit... Rebecca Clarke By the Book But there is a place for the Bible, says the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is celebrating its centennial. Credit... Rebecca Clarke In an email interview, she was thankful for the “oxygen” that working at the library has provided — and for bringing her to know the poet Sonia Sanchez. SCOTT HELLER What books are on your night stand? On my dresser are “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear, “Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy,” by Robie Rogge and Dian G. Smith, and the Bible (New International Version). I try not to have books directly related to work in my rest space. And, I was raised in a home where Bibles were readily available; it remains a very important book for me. What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most? I don’t think there was anything exceptional about my reading life as a child, except I was obsessed with really big words. My mother taught me to read before kindergarten by writing a book for me. I wish I could find it. I liked to read fairy tales but I also read Bible stories. Like I said, Bibles were around when I grew up. Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how). I like quiet, comfortable and preferably naturally lit spaces for reading. It doesn’t really matter much where, as long as those criteria are met. It’s one thing to love books. It’s another to be at an institution whose reason for being is under attack. Did you count on being both? One of the things that I’ve learned, especially through reading in the field of Black Studies, is that Black intellectual traditions are generally shaped in resistance. I don’t think that when you make your living celebrating and/or centering communities that are often on the margins, you have the luxury of imagining that there won’t be periods of struggle. It is what makes the work important and what those who conceived the Schomburg remarkable. What’s a lesser known book from Arturo Schomburg’s original collection that more people should know about? His incomplete/unpublished cookbook probably surprises me most. However, it really shouldn’t be surprising that he thought foodways were an example of Black genius as much as any other cultural artifact. At a centennial event, you said “it feels as though the words that have been critical to my own intellectual and emotional development have breath in this place.” Tell me what you mean. I was speaking to the importance of Schomburg to my own development beyond the fact that I am a staff member and leader. I have been involved in telling and/or interpreting Black history for much of my career and this place has provided oxygen for others like me for a century. Is there a hidden spot inside the Schomburg you find particularly inspiring? It’s not really hidden but, as a research library, our stacks are not public. When I tell you I could spend all my time there, I am not exaggerating. It really is inspiring to see volumes from all of the over the Black diaspora about EVERYTHING. It reminds me that information and knowledge are boundless. It inspires and humbles me. If you could require New York’s next mayor to read one book, what would it be? “Strength to Love,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Transformative leadership, at the end of the day, requires love as a core value. What’s the last great book you read? I’ll name two. “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma,” by Bessel van der Kolk, and “Homegoing,” by Yaa Gyasi. I was late to “Homegoing” but found it extremely compelling. What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift? A good friend gave me Pema Chödrön’s “Comfortable With Uncertainty," and I found it extremely helpful during a particularly challenging phase in my life. Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book? I have yet to get in trouble for reading a book. You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite? This is tough, and at the risk of being somewhat predictable, I’d invite Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, who I never had the opportunity to meet, and Sonia Sanchez, who I have come to know and love since being at the Schomburg. I think this would be a mighty fine party. A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 31, 2025 , Page 4 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Joy Bivins . Order Reprints \| Today’s Paper \| Subscribe Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Markdown	[What to Read](https://www.nytimes.com/section/books) - [Find Your Next Book](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/books/what-to-read-next.html) - [Fantasy](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/books/fantasy-books.html) - [Science Fiction](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/books/science-fiction-books.html) - [Thrillers](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/books/thriller-books.html) - [Romance](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/books/romance-books.html) ![This is an illustration of Joy Bivins.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/31/books/review/31ByTheBook-BIVINS/31ByTheBook-BIVINS-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Credit...Rebecca Clarke [Skip to content](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/books/review/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/books/review/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#site-index) Search & Section Navigation Section Navigation By the Book # Joy Bivins Keeps Work- Related Books Away From Her ‘Rest Space’ But there is a place for the Bible, says the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is celebrating its centennial. Credit...Rebecca Clarke Supported by [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/books/review/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#after-sponsor) - Share full article In an email interview, she was thankful for the “oxygen” that working at the library has provided — and for bringing her to know the poet Sonia Sanchez. SCOTT HELLER What books are on your night stand? On my dresser are “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear, “Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy,” by Robie Rogge and Dian G. Smith, and the Bible (New International Version). I try not to have books directly related to work in my rest space. And, I was raised in a home where Bibles were readily available; it remains a very important book for me. What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most? I don’t think there was anything exceptional about my reading life as a child, except I was obsessed with really big words. My mother taught me to read before kindergarten by writing a book for me. I wish I could find it. I liked to read fairy tales but I also read Bible stories. Like I said, Bibles were around when I grew up. Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how). I like quiet, comfortable and preferably naturally lit spaces for reading. It doesn’t really matter much where, as long as those criteria are met. It’s one thing to love books. It’s another to be at an institution whose reason for being is under attack. Did you count on being both? One of the things that I’ve learned, especially through reading in the field of Black Studies, is that Black intellectual traditions are generally shaped in resistance. I don’t think that when you make your living celebrating and/or centering communities that are often on the margins, you have the luxury of imagining that there won’t be periods of struggle. It is what makes the work important and what those who conceived the Schomburg remarkable. What’s a lesser known book from Arturo Schomburg’s original collection that more people should know about? His incomplete/unpublished cookbook probably surprises me most. However, it really shouldn’t be surprising that he thought foodways were an example of Black genius as much as any other cultural artifact. At a centennial event, you said “it feels as though the words that have been critical to my own intellectual and emotional development have breath in this place.” Tell me what you mean. I was speaking to the importance of Schomburg to my own development beyond the fact that I am a staff member and leader. I have been involved in telling and/or interpreting Black history for much of my career and this place has provided oxygen for others like me for a century. Is there a hidden spot inside the Schomburg you find particularly inspiring? It’s not really hidden but, as a research library, our stacks are not public. When I tell you I could spend all my time there, I am not exaggerating. It really is inspiring to see volumes from all of the over the Black diaspora about EVERYTHING. It reminds me that information and knowledge are boundless. It inspires and humbles me. If you could require New York’s next mayor to read one book, what would it be? “Strength to Love,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Transformative leadership, at the end of the day, requires love as a core value. What’s the last great book you read? I’ll name two. “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma,” by Bessel van der Kolk, and “Homegoing,” by Yaa Gyasi. I was late to “Homegoing” but found it extremely compelling. What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift? A good friend gave me Pema Chödrön’s “Comfortable With Uncertainty," and I found it extremely helpful during a particularly challenging phase in my life. Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book? I have yet to get in trouble for reading a book. You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite? This is tough, and at the risk of being somewhat predictable, I’d invite Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, who I never had the opportunity to meet, and Sonia Sanchez, who I have come to know and love since being at the Schomburg. I think this would be a mighty fine party. A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 31, 2025, Page 4 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Joy Bivins. 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Readable Markdown	![This is an illustration of Joy Bivins.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/31/books/review/31ByTheBook-BIVINS/31ByTheBook-BIVINS-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Credit...Rebecca Clarke By the Book But there is a place for the Bible, says the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, which is celebrating its centennial. Credit...Rebecca Clarke In an email interview, she was thankful for the “oxygen” that working at the library has provided — and for bringing her to know the poet Sonia Sanchez. SCOTT HELLER What books are on your night stand? On my dresser are “Atomic Habits,” by James Clear, “Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy,” by Robie Rogge and Dian G. Smith, and the Bible (New International Version). I try not to have books directly related to work in my rest space. And, I was raised in a home where Bibles were readily available; it remains a very important book for me. What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most? I don’t think there was anything exceptional about my reading life as a child, except I was obsessed with really big words. My mother taught me to read before kindergarten by writing a book for me. I wish I could find it. I liked to read fairy tales but I also read Bible stories. Like I said, Bibles were around when I grew up. Describe your ideal reading experience (when, where, what, how). I like quiet, comfortable and preferably naturally lit spaces for reading. It doesn’t really matter much where, as long as those criteria are met. It’s one thing to love books. It’s another to be at an institution whose reason for being is under attack. Did you count on being both? One of the things that I’ve learned, especially through reading in the field of Black Studies, is that Black intellectual traditions are generally shaped in resistance. I don’t think that when you make your living celebrating and/or centering communities that are often on the margins, you have the luxury of imagining that there won’t be periods of struggle. It is what makes the work important and what those who conceived the Schomburg remarkable. What’s a lesser known book from Arturo Schomburg’s original collection that more people should know about? His incomplete/unpublished cookbook probably surprises me most. However, it really shouldn’t be surprising that he thought foodways were an example of Black genius as much as any other cultural artifact. At a centennial event, you said “it feels as though the words that have been critical to my own intellectual and emotional development have breath in this place.” Tell me what you mean. I was speaking to the importance of Schomburg to my own development beyond the fact that I am a staff member and leader. I have been involved in telling and/or interpreting Black history for much of my career and this place has provided oxygen for others like me for a century. Is there a hidden spot inside the Schomburg you find particularly inspiring? It’s not really hidden but, as a research library, our stacks are not public. When I tell you I could spend all my time there, I am not exaggerating. It really is inspiring to see volumes from all of the over the Black diaspora about EVERYTHING. It reminds me that information and knowledge are boundless. It inspires and humbles me. If you could require New York’s next mayor to read one book, what would it be? “Strength to Love,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Transformative leadership, at the end of the day, requires love as a core value. What’s the last great book you read? I’ll name two. “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma,” by Bessel van der Kolk, and “Homegoing,” by Yaa Gyasi. I was late to “Homegoing” but found it extremely compelling. What’s the best book you’ve ever received as a gift? A good friend gave me Pema Chödrön’s “Comfortable With Uncertainty," and I found it extremely helpful during a particularly challenging phase in my life. Have you ever gotten in trouble for reading a book? I have yet to get in trouble for reading a book. You’re organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite? This is tough, and at the risk of being somewhat predictable, I’d invite Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler, who I never had the opportunity to meet, and Sonia Sanchez, who I have come to know and love since being at the Schomburg. I think this would be a mighty fine party. A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 31, 2025, Page 4 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Joy Bivins. [Order Reprints](https://nytimes.wrightsmedia.com/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https://www.nytimes.com/section/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https://www.nytimes.com/subscriptions/Multiproduct/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY) Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/books/review/joy-bivins-schomburg-center-for-black-culture.html#after-bottom)
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