Constructed in 1939 as the first freestanding college library, the building was named the John Brown Watson Memorial Library in 1958 in memory of the former college president. Recently renovated, the building was renamed in honor of Rufus C. Childress, a noted pioneer in Negro education in Arkansas during the first half of the 20th century.

During his career Childress was a public schoolteacher, principal, college professor and a supervisor with the State Department of Education. He joined with Joseph C. Corbin, founder of Branch Normal College (now UAPB) and others to form the Arkansas Teachers Association for Black Teachers in 1898.

Through his dedication and hard work as a Rosenwald building agent, nearly 400 school buildings for blacks were constructed in Arkansas. In 1928, he organized the first Arkansas branch of the Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers, which subsequently resulted in other units of the PTA being established throughout Arkansas. Childress also organized the first black Boy Scout troop in Arkansas and was one of the founders of the Urban League of Little Rock.