Library:

Researching Topics In African-American Studies

Reference Books

Reference books are found both in the physical Library and in our e-book databases, netLibrary and Books 24x7. A reference book is a work, such as a dictionary or encyclopedia, containing useful facts or information. Because these books are consulted for brief information and not read all the way through, they do not leave the library. They are located in the reference section, that is, in the first couple rows of books in the Library. Here's some that might be helpful (this is not an exhaustive list):

R 709.22 STJ St. James Guide to Black Artists
R 909.0496 AFR Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African-American Experience
R 920 HAS African American Entrepreneurs
R 920.72 BLA Black Women in Nineteenth Century American Life
netLibrary Civil Rights Movement
netLibrary Encyclopedia of African American Business History

You can search the e-book databases directly via the "databases" page to find more virtual titles, or search the Library's catalog to find physical books in our Library.

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Databases

(I need help accessing the databases)
The Library subscribes to--that is, pays for--a number of databases that contain articles, books an other information for you to use for your research. Because of the cross-disciplinary nature of African-American Studies, relevant information may be found in all of the Library databases. The particular subject area of your search will dictate which database to use. Here are some suggestions:

Business topics: use Business Source Premier (EbscoHost), Academic Search Elite (EbscoHost); and Academic Universe
e-books: use netLIbrary or Books 24x7
Local news and people: use the Philadelphia Inquirer

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Web sites

(I need help choosing quality websites)
Because anyone can publish anything they want on the Web, you need to be cautious about which sites you choose to use. Here are sites we recommend for researching countries and cultures:

African-American Mosaic
(http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html) An online exhibition highlighting the Library of Congress African-American Collections as they pertain to colonization, abolition, migrations, and the WPA.
Afro-American Almanac
(http://www.toptags.com/aama/)
The Almanac provides a wide range of content, including biographies, folktales, opinion polls, news, historical documents and events, and e-books (public domain works).
American Slave Narratives
(http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/wpa/
wpahome.html)
As part of the WPA, 2300 former slaves were interviewed between 1936 and 1938. This site provides transcripts of these interviews as well as suggestions for further reading.
Black Studies, resource guide from City College Libraries, NY (http://origin.admin.ccny.cuny.edu/
library/blacks.html)
A stunning directory of links broken down by subject area. A sample of the topics include Black Power, Great Migration, Politics, Religion, Science and Engineering, and Historically Black Colleges, Tuskegee Airmen, the Media, and Education.
Librarian's Index to the Internet: African-American
(http://www.lii.org):
A collection of (usually) high-quality sites on a diverse array of topics selected by librarians with subject expertise.
Gateway to African American History (Department of State)
(http://usinfo.state.gov/scv/history_geography
_and_population/population_and_diversity/
african_americans.html)
The U.S. Department of State provides a wealth of information including articles, fact sheets, proclamations, presidential messages, and remarks from the Secretary of State.

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