Norval Johnson Heritage Library

Norval Freeman Johnson (b. November 27, 1900 - d. May 20, 1981) spent nearly 50 years serving the community of Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Young people were her 'special projects' and she enjoyed many years teaching music and directing the Sunday School Choir for the Nathaniel Dett Memorial Chapel. She was an untiring worker and, at times, single-handedly kept the Niagara Falls BME Church in operation. Mrs Johnson was also a valued member of the Cancer Society of Niagara, devoting many volunteer hours to this cause.

Named in her honour, in March of 1991, the Norval Johnson Heritage Library was opened in the building, formerly the manse, next door to the Nathaniel Dett Memorial Chapel.

This reference collection currently holds over 1,500 volumes on Black-Canadian History, from fiction volumes for children to the most recent literary publications in this area of social history.

In the Fall of 2009, this collection re-located to the St Catharines Public Library as a non-circulating special reference collection where it is accessible to the public for use during all regular hours of operation. The complete collection cataloque can be searched on-line through www.njheritage.ca.