African-American History
The library maintains an extensive collection of materials relating to African-American history and culture. In addition to books and journals, we have the personal papers of prominent individuals and important collections of documents on microform. We also have reference tools that can aid you by providing background and contextual information.
Click on the links below to learn more about each resource type.
Guides to Resources in the Discipline (Research Guides and Bibliographies)
Facts, Dates and Terms (Chronologies, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias)
Locating Books (Library Catalogs)
Locating Journal Articles (Article Indexes)
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Electronic Journals (Full-text online)
Collections of Documents (Primary Sources)
Information on Individuals (Personal Papers, Biographies, Autobiographies)
Guides to Resources in the Discipline
BIBLIOGRAPHIES and RESOURCE GUIDES contain lists of sources, often books, on a topic. Examples include:
The African American Experience : an Historiagraphical and Bibliographical Guide
UP Copy:
Call # E184.65.A37 2001, Arts & Humanities Ready Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
The African-American mosaic: a Library of Congress resource guide for the study of Black
history and culture
UP Call number: LC 1.6/4:AF 8, 2nd Floor Paterno Library stacks, U.S. documents collection
Afro-American Reference : an Annotated Bibliography of Selected Resources
UP Copy:
Call # Z1361.N39D37 1985, Arts & Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
The Harvard Guide to African-American History
UP Copy:
Call # E185.H326 2001, Arts & Humanities Ready Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
Voices of the Spirit : Sources for Interpreting the African-American Experience
UP Copy:
Call # Z1361.N39G56 1995, Arts & Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
MORE BIBLIOGRAPHIES -- To locate a bibliography on your topic try a keyword search in The CAT using your subject term and the word bibliography. This works best if you use more general topics, e.g. civil rights and bibliography, race relations and bibliography, etc...
Facts, Dates, and Terms
Africana : the Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience
UP Copy:
Call # DT14.A37435 2005, Arts and Humanities Ready Reference
The African-American Almanac
UP Copy: Call # E185 .N385, Latest edition, Arts & Humanities Ready Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee. Earlier editions, Pattee Stacks Level 1
African American Biographical Database, 1790-1950
Black Firsts : 4,000 Ground-breaking and Pioneering Historical Events
UP Copy:
Call # E185.B574 2003, Social Sciences Reference, 2nd Floor Paterno
Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery
UP Copy:
Call # E441.D53 1997, Arts & Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History
Historical Statistics of Black America
UP Copy:
Call # E185.H543 1995, Arts & Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
Historical Statistics of the United States Millennium Edition
The Timetables of African-American History : a Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in African-American History
UP Copy: Call # E185.H295 1995, Arts & Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
Locating Books
Search The CAT to look for books owned by the library. The CAT will tell you which books we own and where they are located.
Click here to go to The CAT Click here for an online guide to The CAT
E-Book Collections Includes: Digital Evans, 1639-1800, NetLibrary, and the History E-Book Project
LOOKING FOR MORE??? If you can't find what you need at Penn State, try locating it elsewhere.
- CIC University Libraries (Big Ten) (Search all the library catalogs of the Big Ten)
- OCLC WorldCat -- 40 million + records from library catalogs across the U.S. and selected international libraries. Use the ILL button to have materials sent to PSU
- National Union Catalog, pre 1956 Imprints -- Early list of holdings of U.S. Libraries. Contains references to some material not in the online library catalogs.
UP Copy: Call # Z881.A1N2, Pattee, 2nd Floor, Paterno Humanities Reading Room
If you still cannot find what you are looking for, consider using a Bibliography. try looking for Journal Articles, or ask for HELP.
Locating Articles
History Databases: Use the sources below to find scholarly articles in history journals
- America: History and Life -- An index to articles pertaining to U.S. and Canadian history
- Historical Abstracts -- An index to articles covering the history of the world
Other Scholarly Databases: To search for articles in other disciplines (sociology, literature, etc...) see our list of African-American Studies Databases and the Full-Text Electronic Journal Collections
News & Magazine Articles
- Accessible Archives -- Full-text of 19th Century African-American Newspapers
- American Periodicals Series Online, 1740-1900 -- Full-text of American magazines and journals that originated between 1741 and 1900
- Ethnic NewsWatch -- Recent full-text of U.S. Ethnic news sources
- Black Literature, 1827-1940. -- Fiction, poetry, book reviews, and literary notices from African American newspapers and journals. Collection Description
- Hampton University Peabody Newspaper Clipping File.
(Approximately 1873-1940) Collection Description - Index to Black Periodicals.
UP Copy: Call # Z1361.N39I601, Arts & Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee. Covers articles published since 1950. Has various titles: Index to Selected Periodicals, Index to Periodical Articles By and About Negroes, and Index to Periodical Articles By and About Blacks
See the Subject List: News for additional options, including NY Times Historical and AccuNet/AP Newspaper Photo Archive.
E-Journal Collections (Full-text may only be available for selected years)
- History Cooperative -- Includes the recent full-text of journals from the The American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and other publishers
- International Index to Black periodicals (IIBP) (from A-Z list) full-text coverage of 40 core Black Studies periodicals
- JSTOR -- Full-text of back issues of scholarly journals, includes many history and African-American Studies titles
- MUSE -- Full-text of recent academic journals, including many history titles
- Periodicals Archive Online - full-text of back issues of scholarly journals, includes many history and some African-American Studies titles
Collections of Documents
The library has acquired a number of collections containing texts of works documenting the African American experience. Some of these collections are not fully described in The CAT and require the use of printed guides to determine what is available. Ask for HELP locating materials in these collections. Unless otherwise noted all are in the News and Microforms Library, Ground Floor West Pattee. Consult Microfinder for a larger listing of our major collections in microfilm and microfiche. The Web Sites and Individual Biography sections list additional collections available online
African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A.P. Murray Collection, 1818-1907.
American Colonization Society. Records, 1792-1964
UP Copy:
Call # FILM A66, Guide: E448.A44. Collection Description
Black Abolitionist Papers, 1830-1865.
UP Copy:
Call # FILM A131, Guide: E446.B5. Collection Description
Black Power Movement,
UP Copy: Call #
E185.615.B533 2002, Guide: Collection Description
Black Workers in the Era of the Great Migration, 1916-1929.
UP Copy:
Call # FILM A227, Guide: E185.8.S35 1985. Collection Description
Civil Rights During the Johnson Administration, 1963-1969.
UP Copy: Call # FILM A216, Guide: KF4749.C68. Collection Description
CORE. The Papers of the Congress of Racial Equality, 1941-1967.
UP Copy: Call # FILM A120, Guide: Z1361.N39M46 1980. Collection Description
Early American Imprints, 1639-1800. Contains the texts of works published on all topics in the United States from 1639-1800. Full-text online via Digital Evans
Papers of the NAACP. (many parts and supplements) Call # varies see the Collection Description. Guides: E185.5.N276A2. Collection Descriptions
Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. (2 collections) Call # FILM A52 & A253, Guide: BX7642.P4P2 1976. Collection Descriptions
Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations. (Series). Call # FILM A259, A264, A284, A285, Guides: HD1471.U52A13. Collection Descriptions
Slave Narratives Beginnings to 1920. Related site: American Slave Narratives: an Online Anthology
Slavery Pamphlets. Call # Micro 3, Guide: Z1249.S6A5. Individual title in the collection are listed in The CAT. Collection Description
Slavery Petitions (University of North Carolina, Greensboro)
Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture (University of Virginia)
United States. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. Call # FILM D273 to D281. Guides: Z1361.N39U55. Collection Descriptions
Locating Information about Individuals
Individual Biographies (Also see PERSONAL PAPERS below)
The easiest way to locate a biography is to do a Browse Subject search in The CAT. Enter the name of the individual as the subject. For autobiographies do an Author search.
Many people are not famous enough to have entire books devoted to them (or you may not need that much information!). In these cases try a biographical dictionary or encyclopedia. Typically they provide a brief essay summarizing the individual's life and accomplishments. The ones below will get you started.
African American Biographical Database, 1790-1950
Contemporary Black Biography (1992-date)
Call # E185.96.C66, Arts & Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
Faces of Science: African-Americans in the Sciences Profiles of African-Americans who have contributed to the advancement of science and technology.
Notable Black American Women
Call # E185.96.N68 2003, Arts & Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee
Who's Who Among African-Americans
Call # E185.96 .W56, Social Sciences Reference, 2nd Floor Paterno
Looking for more biographies? Try the sources below or ask for HELP
- American National Biography Online Offers portraits of more than 17,000 men and women -- from all eras and walks of life -- whose lives have shaped the nation.
- Biography and Genealogy Master Index Indexes over 13 million entries in biographical encyclopedias and dictionaries.
- Blacks in Selected Newspapers, Censuses and Other Sources : an Index to Names and Subjects Call # Z1361.N39A28 Q, Arts & Humanities, Pattee, Stacks 2 - Reference Collection
Personal Papers and Other Primary Source Materials
The library has acquired paper and microfilm source materials by and about prominent African-Americans. A partial list can also be found on Microfinder under the heading "African-Americans" Another approach is to search in The CAT. Use the person's name combined with one of the following terms: "Letters, Papers, Sources, Correspondence, Diary/Diaries, Archives".
Many primary sources have not been published and can only be accessed at the library or archive holding the original documents. To identify libraries that may have items of interest consult the following:
ArchivesUSA -- A subject guide to materials in archives across the country. More detailed finding aids are in the National Inventory of Documentary Sources (NIDS), Call # MICRO 4 NIDS, News and Microforms Library, Ground Floor West Pattee.
Archival Sources -- Descriptions and guides for collections held in large research libraries.
You can find documents for some individuals online. For example,
- Frederick Douglass Papers (Library of Congress)
- Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers Project (UCLA)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project (Stanford University)
- Booker T. Washington Papers Online (History Cooperative and University of Illinois)
Texts and other documents are available for many other individuals, from the prominent to the obscure. Try an Internet Search Engine (e.g. Google.com, AltaVista.com), or ask for Help.
Useful Web Sites
Many of the sections above contain useful web resources. The links below are for local sites and general sites that provide good starting points for research.
Penn State Department of African and African American Studies
H-Afro-Am A discussion list for those in the field of African-American Studies.
African American History & Studies - Directory of Online Resources
African American Odyssey (Library of Congress)
Amistad Research Center (Tulane University)
Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York Public Library)
Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in African and African-American Studies.
WWW-Virtual Library: African-American History Links
WANT MORE?? Consult the printed guide, The African American experience in cyberspace : a resource guide to the best Web sites on black culture and history Call #E185.M378 2004, Arts and Humanities Reference, 2nd Floor Pattee and Social Sciences Reference, 2nd Floor Paterno.
Help
Can't find what you are looking for?
Send an e-mail or Chat question via our ASK! Service.
OR contact a subject specialist:
Sylvia Nyana,
African-American and Ethnic Studies
Social Sciences Library, 2nd Floor Paterno
814-865-8864
san17@psulias.psu.edu
Eric Novotny, History
Arts & Humanities Library, 2nd Floor Pattee
814-865-1014
ecn1@psu.edu
IM: HistoryLibrarian
You might also post your question to the members of the H-net discussion list, H-Afro-Am. The list's web page contains an archive of previously posted questions and answers.
This site is under development.