[1] James J. H. Gregory, a white seed salesman who had seen the plight of southern blacks during his time as a Union Civil War soldier, recognized the harm done when they were denied access to public libraries;[2] Gregory believed everyone should have access to "character-forming books".
[3] In addition to his other philanthropy, Gregory sought to send books to "schools intended for the children of the poor, particularly the Negroes and the mountain white people".
[4] In cooperation with George Sherwood Dickerman, Gregory solicited suggestions in 1908 for appropriate titles from black colleges and universities, as well as Southern public libraries that had collections for African Americans.
[7] The program was administered by Atlanta University, which encouraged circulation and kept track of the collections.
[10] The program continued for twenty years with the administrative funds provided by Gregory.