The Southern University Library was first documented on May 1, 1889, in a report requesting more books. After the institution moved from New Orleans to Scotlandville in 1914, the book collection was housed in a bookroom on the top floor of the Academic Building. At that time, the collection contained 2,800 volumes and 5,400 pamphlets valued at $4,200. The library remained housed at that location until 1940. The first person overseeing this collection was Bessie Howell, who held the position from 1928-1929—a bulletin entitled "Library Leaves" informed faculty and students about new acquisitions.
In 1929, Camille Stivers Shade became Southern University's first professional librarian. She served as Head Librarian for 42 years and devoted three additional years of service to the library as a Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) librarian. Under Shade's leadership, the library grew from one room to a two-story building completed in 1941, with a seating capacity of 277. The collection grew to 20,000 volumes and 10,000 government documents within two years. In 1959, an addition was made to the building, doubling public service capacity.
The library made many changes to meet the students and faculty's progressive needs and challenges and adapt to current trends. In 1966, the library began converting its collection from the Dewey Decimal Classification System to the Library of Congress classification. In 1968, the Black Heritage Collection was established during the Civil Rights movement, later renamed Camille S. Shade Collection.
Edward J. Fontenette assumed the head librarian responsibilities in 1969 and served until 1974. He is the first and only male to hold the library administrator position at Southern University -Baton Rouge. Adele Martin Jackson served as interim director until 1976 when Georgia W. Brown was appointed Director of Libraries and served until 1992.
Under Mrs. Brown's leadership, the present facility, a $11 million four-story structure across the street from the previous facility, was completed and opened in 1984. In a 1987 dedication ceremony, the building was officially named the John B. Cade Library in honor of John Brother Cade, a former dean and archivist at Southern. The building has a seating capacity of 1,400 and 154,240 square feet of library space. During Brown's tenure, the library was transformed from a collection of print and microforms to emerging technology. The library evolved into a learning center that offered electronic, print, and non-print materials; an online catalog; a wholly integrated library management system, the internet, and online databases; a Library Learning Resource Center; and a state-of-the-art Music-Listening Center.
John Brother Cade, a native of Elberton, Georgia, served at Southern University for 23 years. Born in Dansburg, Georgia, on October 19, 1894, he was the second of six children of a family of three boys and three girls born to William and Francis Cade. Between 1896 and 1900, the family moved from Wilkes County in Dansburg, Georgia, to Elbert County, Elberton, Georgia. There, Cade began his early school training in St. Paul C. M. E Church. Upon finishing grade school, he went to Knox Institute and Industrial School in Athens, Georgia, graduating in 1915.
In October 1915, he entered Atlanta University but volunteered for Military Service in the 17th Provisional Training Camp at Des Moines, Iowa, in June 1917. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry and was assigned to Camp Dodge, Iowa, with Company F, 366th Infantry. He served overseas from June 15, 1918, until February 22, 1919, and was honorably discharged on March 31, 1919. He was in France when World War I ended. His book, Twenty-Two Months with Uncle Sam, chronicles his experiences in the military.
Cade returned to Atlanta University and completed work for his B.A. degree in 1921. His teaching career began at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. There, he met and married Jessie Mae Maben on June 4, 1923. A daughter, Jessie Lola, now deceased, was born in 1924.
In 1928, Cade was awarded a master's degree at the University of Chicago with a major in history. During the summer of 1929, he came to the Southern University Laboratory School, where he became its first principal. Interrupting his tenure at Southern University in 1930, Dean Cade moved to Prairie View, Texas. From 1931 to 1939, he was the Director of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Prairie View College. There, a son, John B. Cade, Jr., was born on June 18, 1932.
Cade returned to Southern University in 1939 and served as University Dean and Director of Extension Services until his retirement in 1961. While at Southern, he wrote three more books: By Their Fruits, A Man Christened Josiah Clark (a biography of Dr. Joseph S. Clark, who is recognized as the founder of Southern University), and Holsey: The Incomparable; He has one grandson, James Kenneth Washington, and two granddaughters, Jeanne Cherise Cade Story and Patti Michelle Cade Jones.
After retirement, he established this campus's Archives of Black Louisiana History. His long and valuable life ended at age 75 on January 31, 1970. He was listed in Who is Who in Negro America, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and Post 502 of the American Legion. The library was named in his honor at the library dedication ceremony on October 8, 1987.
In 1992, Emma Bradford Perry was named the first Dean of Libraries. Under her leadership, technology has proliferated, services and resources have increased, and renovation and redesign projects have been completed, with several funded projects near completion, all to meet the demands of the twenty-first-century university community. During Perry's administration, numerous library innovations were accomplished, including establishing a Library Systems and Technology office and funding grants. 2007, the library opened a state-of-the-art Information Technology Center on the second floor. Dean Emma Bradford Perry retired in 2018.
In 2018, Dr. Dawn Kight was named the second dean of libraries at Southern University, Baton Rouge Campus. Dr. Kight is committed to advancing the library's role in education, research, and community engagement by strategically integrating technology, enhancing instruction, pursuing grant opportunities, and expanding outreach efforts.
The Dean is driving technological innovation by adopting cutting-edge digital tools and platforms that expand access to information and enhance research capabilities. Through strategic leadership, innovation, and collaboration, Dean Kight ensures that the library system remains dynamic, accessible, and essential to the institution's academic and research missions.