The Barron F. Black Branch Library was dedicated on Sunday, June 26, 1977, and officially opened to the public on July 1. Its name was chosen to honor Barron Foster Black, who served as chairman of the Norfolk Foundation, chairman of Board of the Friends of the Norfolk Public Library Trust Fund, and established the Norfolk Historic Foundation in the early 1960s. Black also generously gave towards building a new central library for the City of Norfolk, and was instrumental in the preservation of the historical Willoughby-Baylor House and the 1791 Taylor-Whittle House. The meeting room is dedicated to the memory of Senior Library Clerk Gloria L. Lance (1927-1983) who lost her life in service to the patrons of Norfolk Public Library