Jordan-Newby Anchor Branch at Broad Creek

Jordan-Newby Branch History

The Brambleton Branch Library opened on April 26, 1922 in a storefront at 1520 E. Brambleton Avenue. It served the Brambleton neighborhood, which was named to honor George Bramble, the Norfolk county landowner on whose property the neighborhood was developed in the late 19th century. Brambleton was annexed to the City of Norfolk as its 5th Ward in January 1887.

A new Brambleton library branch opened at 961 Park Avenue in 1986. The branch was renamed Jordan-Newby Branch in 1997 to honor the Honorable Judge Joseph A. Jordan Jr. and three members of the Newby family: James E. Newby Sr., Dr. James E. Newby Jr., and Dr. Thomas A. Newby.

Joseph A. Jordan Jr. (1923-1991) was a Norfolk attorney and Civil Rights advocate. He was responsible for bringing a number of Civil Rights suits to court, including one on behalf of Mrs. Evelyn Butts of Norfolk, which Jordan successfully argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, ending the poll tax as a prerequisite for voting in state and local elections in Virginia. In 1968, he became the first African American elected to the Norfolk City Council since 1889. He served three terms on the council, including two years as vice-mayor, and was appointed as a judge in the U.S. District Court in 1977. In 1975, Jordan urged the construction of the Martin Luther King Memorial, which stands today at Brambleton Ave and Church Street. His wife, Dr. Patricia Gardner Jordan, was an educator in the Norfolk Public School system and later served as Director of the Lyman Beecher Brooks Library at Norfolk State University. Jordan was an early advocate for a public library to serve Broad Creek.

James E. Newby Sr. (1900-1983), was a Norfolk educator who began his career teaching carpentry at Booker T. Washington High School in 1928. Later, he served as vice principal at Ruffner Junior High beginning in 1952 and was appointed principal of Norfolk's newly constructed Rosemont Junior High School (now the Academy of International Studies at Rosemont) in 1961.

His son, Dr. James E. Newby Jr. (1930-1971), was the first African American board-certified specialist in internal medicine in Hampton Roads who also served as the president of the Norfolk Medical Society, Chief of Medicine at Norfolk Community Hospital, and founded the hospital's first residency program in Internal Medicine. In 1965, he became the first African American to serve on the Norfolk Planning Commission.

Dr. Newby's brother, Dr. Thomas A. Newby (1935-1997), was a Norfolk educator and science teacher who served as the Assistant Principal and Principal at Campostella Junior High, the Director of Norfolk's Central Cities Project, and Principal of Norfolk's Transition School. Dr. Thomas Newby most notably became the first graduate of Booker T. Washington to serve as its principal.

Plans for a new location in the Broad Creek area were well underway when ground broke in September 2016. The two-story, $10 million would be off Princess Anne Road, east of Norchester Avenue. Tentatively named the Broad Creek Library after the Broad Creek neighborhood in which it would be located, it would include a roof terrace and areas for young people, including a patio and a large children’s library. The new library would be next to the new Richard Bowling Elementary School. 

The Jordan-Newby Branch at Park Avenue closed on August 15, 2018. In September 2021, it was reopened as the Community Feed, a Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore food hub.

The new Jordan-Newby Anchor Branch at Broad Creek opened its doors on June 14, 2018 at 1425 Norchester Avenue as Norfolk Public Library's second anchor branch. On opening, it provided two floors of books and resources, two high-tech meeting rooms, a computer lab, a reading patio, a reading terrace and an expansive Children's Area with a Playscape, KidZone and Art Studio. 

In September 2021, the old Jordan-Newby was reopened as the Community Feed, a Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore food hub.

As part of the City of Norfolk's Lifelong Learning Initiative, Jordan-Newby Anchor Branch at Broad Creek hosted the kickoff event for the Lifelong Learning Week on May 7, 2022. This event, which included remarks from City of Norfolk leadership, wreath making, character actors, a StoryWalk, storytelling and much more, launched the inaugural Lifelong Learning Week. Jordan-Newby Anchor Branch at Broad Creek is currently the home for the Believe in Learning Norfolk offices.