African American History
SCOPE: The purpose of this pathfinder is to introduce some of the resources available in Collier Library in the field of AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY. The various types of library materials useful in research are described along with some examples of each type. This guide is not a comprehensive listing of sources, but is intended to be a starting point from which students can begin their research according to their specific needs.
BASIC INTRODUCTION OR OVERVIEW MATERIAL can be found in:
Horton, James Oliver and Lois E. Horton. Hard Road to Freedom: The Story of African America. 2001.
E 185 .H643 2001
Franklin, John Hope and Alfred A. Moss, Jr. From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans. 2000.
E 185 .F8266 2000
To Make Our World Anew: A History of African Americans. 2000.
E 185 .T68 2000
Conniff, Michael L. Africans in the Americas: A History of the Black Diaspora. 1994.
E 29 .N3 C68 1994
BOOKS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY can be located by using some of the following SUBJECT HEADINGS that appear in UNACAT, a computerized catalog of library holdings.
AFRICAN AMERICANS
AFRICAN AMERICANS-BIOGRAPHY
AFRICAN AMERICANS-HISTORY
BLACKS-AMERICA-HISTORY
CIVIL RIGHTS-UNITED STATES
SLAVERY-UNITED STATES-HISTORY
OTHER SUBJECT HEADINGS can be identified by using:
Library of Congress Subject Headings
(latest edition located on stand in the Reference area)
BROWSING the following CALL NUMBERS may produce helpful titles:
Library of Congress
E 184-185
REFERENCE TOOLS that may be useful in regard to AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY and that can be found in the Reference Room include:
LITERATURE GUIDES may provide an evaluative discussion of the methods and materials for doing research in a selected area.
Black American Families, 1965-1984: A Classified, Selectively Annotated Bibliography. 1986.
Ref Z 1361 .N39 B5 1986
Blacks in America: Bibliographical Essays. 1971.
Ref Z 1361 .N39 B56
Murray, Paul T. The Civil Rights Movement: References and Resources. 1993.
Ref Z 1361 .N39 M93 1993
Newman, Debra L. Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives. 1984.
Ref Z 1361 .N39 N576 1984
Richardson, R. C. The Study of History: A Bibliographical Guide. 2000.
Ref Z 6208 .H5 2000
Slavens, Thomas P. Sources of Information for Historical Research. 1994.
Ref Z 6201 .S64 1994
BIBLIOGRAPHIES list books, periodical articles, and/or other materials by subject or by author.
Afro-American Life, History, and Culture. 1985.
Ref Z 1361 .N39 A4
Afro-American Reference: An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Resources. 1985.
Ref Z 1361 .N39 D37 1985
The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature. 2 vols. 1995.
Ref 6201 .A55 1995
Davis, Lenwood G. The Black Family in the United States: A Revised, Updated, Selectively Annotated Bibliography. 1986.
Ref Z 1361 .N39 D355 1986
Davis, Lenwood G. Blacks in the American Armed Forces 1776-1983: A Bibliography. 1985.
Ref Z 1249 .M5 D38 1985
ENCYCLOPEDIAS AND DICTIONARIES provide brief definitions or concise overviews of a topic, often followed by lists of further references.
Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. 1999.
Ref DT 14 .A37435 1999
African American History and Culture. (online encyclopedia)
See the libraries' database page: < http://www.una.edu/library/databases.htm>
Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. 2 vols. 1993.
Ref E 185.86 .B542
The Civil Rights Movement. 2000.
Electronic Book (a link is provided in UNACAT to the online full text of this work)
Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery. 1997.
Ref E 441 .D53 1997
Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present. 1992.
Ref E 185.61 .E54 1992
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. 5 vols. 1996.
Ref E 185 .E54 1996
Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage. 1997.
Electronic book (a link is provided in UNACAT to the online full text of this work)
DIRECTORIES contain names, addresses, and telephone numbers of persons, organizations, and institutions.
Bunkley, Crawford B. The African American Network: Get Connected to More Than 5,000 Prominent People and Organizations in the African American Community. 1996.
Ref E 185.86 .B86 1996
African Americans Information Directory, 1998-99. 1998.
Ref E 185 .A47 1998
ALMANACS OR STATISTICAL SOURCES provide miscellaneous bits of facts and data.
Black Americans: A Statistical Sourcebook. 1999.
Ref E 185.86 .B52 1999
Black Firsts: 2,000 Years of Extraordinary Achievement. 1994.
Ref E 185 .B574 1994b
Cramer, Clayton E. Black Demographic Data, 1790-1860: A Sourcebook.
Ref E 185.18 .C73 1997
Historical Statistics of Black America. 2 vols. 1995.
Ref E 185 .H543 1995
International Historical Statistics: the Americas 1750-1988. 1993.
Ref HA 175 .M52 1993
Statistical Record of Black America. 1990.
Ref E 185.5 S7 1990
HANDBOOKS AND MANUALS cover broad subjects in a brief, concise manner and may include odd bits of information about a variety of topics. They may also be referred to as companions or compendia.
Cantor, George. Historic Landmarks of Black America. 1991.
Ref E 185.53 .A1 C36 1991
The New York Public Library African American Desk Reference. 1999.
Ref E 185 .N49 1999
BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCES - contain articles about the lives and works of various individuals.
African American Women: A Biographical Dictionary. 1993.
Ref E 185.96 A45 1993
American National Biography. (online database)
See the libraries' database page: <http://www.una.edu/library/databases.htm>
Asante, Molefi K. 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. 2002.
Ref E 185.96 .A83 2002
Biography and Genealogy Master Index. (online database)
See the libraries' database page: <http://www.una.edu/library/databases.htm>
Biography Resource Center. (online database)
See the libraries' database page: <http://www.una.edu/library/databases.htm>
Black Heroes of the 20th Century. 1998.
Ref E 185.96 .B5337 1998
Dictionary of American Biography. 30 vols. 1928-1944.
Ref E 176 .D562
Hawkins, Walter L. African American Biographies: Profiles of 558 Current Men and Women. 1992.
Ref E 185.96 .H38 1992
SOURCEBOOKS usually contain excerpts or reprints of major documents and other source material relating to the subject of study, with or without accompany text.
African American Slave Narratives. 3 vols. 2001.
Electronic Books (a link is provided in UNACAT to the full text of these works)
Documentary History of the Modern Civil Rights Movement. 1992.
Ref E 185.61 .D64 1992
I Too am America; Documents from 1619 to present. 1968.
Ref E 185 .R76
Lift Every Voice: African American Oratory 1787-1900. 1998.
Electronic Book (a link is provided in UNACAT to the full text of this work)
ATLASES - collections of maps bound together in one volume, with or without accompanying text. Atlases may be contemporary or historical.
Earle, Jonathan. Routledge Atlas of African American History. 2000.
Ref E 185 .E125 2000
INDEXES AND ABSTRACTS that will help locate PERIODICAL ARTICLES and other papers in AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY are:
America: History and Life (online index)
Academic Search Elite (fulltext online database)
InfoTrac Onefile (fulltext online database)
JStor (fulltext online database)
ProQuest Research Library Complete (fulltext online database)
A few frequently used PERIODICALS in AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY are:
African American Review
American Historical Review
Crisis
Historian
Journal of American Ethnic History
Journal of American History
Journal of Black Studies
Journal of Negro History
Journal of Southern History
New Crisis
Western Journal of Black Studies
PERIODICALS held by the library can be identified in the PERIODICALS HOLDINGS LIST, in print or online at: <http://www.una.edu/library>
INTERNET - For subject listings of Internet resources, see the Collier Library Web Page at: <>
-Internet Resources Collection http://www.una.edu/library/vref.htm
-American History
-African American History
INTERLIBRARY LOAN - It is possible to borrow books or obtain copies of articles from other libraries if the material is unavailable locally. The material can be requested online be filling in the appropriate forms at: <http://www.una.edu/library/illindex.htm>
DT/11-03
