Subject Guide for African American Studies
Contents
Online Catalog (the PAC)
For books pertaining to the interdisciplinary field of African American studies, select
the subject category on the PAC menu. Numerous subdivisions listed in Library of
Congress Subject Headings, located near the Reference Desk, will assist in choosing and narrowing the area of research.
What follows is a small sampling of various categories of reference books, found on the main (1st) floor in Reference Services, that can assist you in doing research on topics relating to African Americans.
Typically, a subject search in the PAC for these books begins with "African American(s)" followed by a narrowing category. For example, "African Americans - Dictionaries",
or "African Americans - Bibliography", or "African Americans - Biography."
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Guidebooks
The African American Experience.
E 184.65 A37 Ref
This is an excellent compilation of bibliographical essays on
important aspects of African American culture. Migration and
urbanization, slavery and freedom, literary tradition, political
thought, the Black press, consumerism, and education are among the
themes addressed.
The Harvard Guide to African-American History. 2001.
E 185 H326 Ref
This represents the most comprehensive attempt to survey
African America history and culture. It begins with significant
bibliographies, reference works, manuscript collections, Internet
resources, government documents, oral histories, followed by
extensive bibliographies on various themes.
Afro-American Reference. 1985.
E 185 D37 Ref
This annotated bibliography, mainly comprised of reference books
and standard works, can be used as a guide for locating information
on many aspects of African American culture.
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Encyclopedias
African American Encyclopedia. 1993. 8 vols.
E 185 A253 Ref
A heavily illustrated 8-volume set that is a worthy successor to the Afro-American
Encyclopedia (1974). Substantial entries list suggested readings.
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History.
1996. 5 vols.
E 185 E54 Ref
Written by scholars in the field, this is an excellent source for
historical, biographical, and thematic articles that provide references
for additional research.
African America: Portrait of a People 1994.
E 185.96 E87 Ref
This is an encyclopedic survey of the African American experience
complimented with numerous biographies.
Encyclopedia of Civil Rights of America. 1998. 4 vols.
E 185.61 E544 Ref
Though mostly pertaining the civil rights struggle of African
Americans, this work is also relevant to women's right and other
minority groups in America. The end of Volume 4 contains sections
of documents, a chronology, bibliography, filmography, list of
organizations, and a table of important court cases.
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Biographical Sources
Contemporary Black Biography. 1993-.
E 185.96 C66 Ref
An invaluable source for biographical material, particularly for
current newsmakers. New volumes are published on a regular basis.
Dictionary of American Negro Biography. 1982.
E 185.96 L6 Ref
A valuable, critical work on numerous important African Americans
who are deceased. Each entry includes references to books and
articles for further reading.
Who's Who Among Black Americans.
E 185.96 W52 Ref
With approximately 20,000 entries, this is the most ambitious
biographical source for significant living Black Americans.
Notable Black American Women.
E 185.96 N68 Ref
Hundreds of biographies of significant Black females can be found here.
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Indexes, Bibliographies, Guidebooks and Catalogs
Afro-American History; A Bibliography. 1972, 1981.
Z 1361 N39 S56 Ref
This two-volume reference source provides numerous summaries of
articles pertaining to African American history.
Blacks in America: Bibliographical Essays. 1971.
E 185 B596 Ref
Books and articles are mentioned in this classic containing
essays on aspects of African American history and culture.
Dictionary Catalog of the Schomburg Collection of Negro
Literature and History. 1962-.
E 185 S324 Ref
The holdings of the Schomburg Collection comprise the nation's most
important collection of materials on peoples of African descent.
In Black and White. 1980, 1985.
E 185.96 .S653 1980 Ref
A very useful index for finding articles and books pertaining to
15,000 important African Americans, alive and deceased.
Index to Black Periodicals. 1984-.
E 185.96 S653 Ref
This index to both popular and scholarly periodicals is the successor
to Index to Periodical Articles By and About Blacks 1973-1993,
Index to Periodical Articles By and About Negroes 1960-1972, and
Index to Selected Negro Periodicals 1950-1959.
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Factbooks
Almanac of African American Heritage. 2001.
E185 A448 Ref
A handy book of facts, events, and people mostly arranged as lists.
Helpful index.
The New York
Public Library African American Desk Reference. 1999.
E 185 N49 199 Ref
Compared to the Almanac of African American Heritage (see
above), this one has more statistical data, illustrations, and
entries that tend to be more substantial.
The African-American Yellow Pages. 1996.
E 185.5 A2575 Ref
This directory lists names and addresses of associations, colleges and
universities, church denominations, embassies and consulates,
politicians, media, financial institutions, etc.
Contemporary Quotations in Black. 1997.
E 184.6 C665 Ref
Poignant, thoughtful utterances and written comments by many well-
known African Americans.
Black Firsts. 1994.
E 185 B574 Ref
As the title suggests, this book answers the question, "Who was the
first Black to achieveÇwhatever?"
Voices of Multicultural America. 1996.
PS 663 M55 V64 Ref
An excellent source for numerous speeches delivered by famous
African Americans over the past 200 years.
Chronology of African-American History. 1991.
E 185 H64 Ref
A complete and detailed summary of important events with dates.
Appendix contains relevant documents followed by bibliographies.
Black Americans: A Statistical Sourcebook. 1996.
E 185.5 B512 Ref
Statistics on health, education, businesses, etc.
Atlas of African-American History. 2001.
E 185 C55 Ref
The progress of a people is plotted in colorful maps.
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Literature
Oxford Companion to African American Literature. 1997.
PS 153 N5.O96 Ref
A monumental work containing entries on themes, writers, and events pertaining to African
American literature.
Masterplots II, African American Literature. 1994.
PS 153 N5M 2645 Ref
Look here for concise summaries of 226 literary works in this 3-volume set.
Dictionary of Literary Biography.
PS 153 N5 A34/39 Ref
Thus far, six volumes (vols. 33, 38, 41, 50, 51, 76) have appeared
which profile the careers of significant African American literary
figures. Their major works are critiqued and useful bibliographies
are included.
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Online/Electronic Resources
These resources can be found mainly on the Library's homepage. Topics relating to the interdisciplinary field of African American studies are accessed in most of the article databases, depending on the focus of the research.
Of special note are ArticleFirst (multidisciplinary),
PsycInfo (psychology),
MLA Bibliography (literature),
America History and Life (history),
ERIC (education) and
Academic Search Premier
(general interest newspaper and magazine articles) scholarly journals. Full-text articles are provided by databases such as
LexisNexis Academic,
EBSCOhost,
ProQuest,
JSTOR (scholarly journals) and others.
Robert Fikes, Jr.
May 2002
