Black Studies Collections

Guide to African American reference

Guide to Afro-Caribbean reference

History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library

Internet Links

Networked databases

Online Library Catalog

Subject bibliographies



African Americana Library News rss

Obama exhibit
Nov 7, 2008
The Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library plans Obama exhibit in Denver

Scrapbooks open up past
Nov 3, 2008
Scrapbooks have gained new respect as research tools by historians.

Pioneers of Rhythm and Blues
Oct 22, 2008
Grammy grant to IU archive aims to preserve historic interviews with R&B pioneers

U Chicago Exhibit
Oct 17, 2008
Integrating the Life of the Mind: African Americans at UC, 1870-1940

Civil Rights Digital Library
Oct 8, 2008
Teenie Harris photographs now part of digital library

African American Research Center

Sep 30, 2008

Friends,

For your information, the Afro-American Library has moved and undergone a name change.  We have renamed it the African American Research Center.  Its new location is the History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library located in room 246 Main Library.  My office is in room 246F.

Maintaining a long tradition the University Library has had a subject librarian in African American Studies since 1969.  The librarian is responsible for building the library's collection of African American materials, assisting faculty and students with their research, providing course-related instruction for courses, and teaching the Department of African American Studies' course "Researching the African American Experience."

Within the History, Philosophy and Newspaper Library there are numerous primary sources documenting the African American experience.  Some of the many resources available are listed in our guide Primary Sources about African Americans on Microfilm.  We also have a special collection of more than 1,000 reference books (encyclopedia, biographical dictionaries, bibliographies, etc.) about African American and African diaspora subject matter.  This collection is interdisciplinary and covers both humanities and social science topics.  Supplementing the reference collection is our African American CD-ROM Workstation with approximately one dozen CD-ROM titles.  This research tool has bibliographic references, full-text documents, recordings of folk music and speeches, images and video clips.

Overall the Library system contains hundreds of thousands of items relating to African Americans and Africans in the diaspora including books, journals, newspapers, documents, microforms, videocassettes and non-print media. Areas of the world emphasized include the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Great Britain, France, Germany, and the Pacific Islands.

Please do not hesitate to give me a call (3-3006) or send an e-mail (tweissin@illinois.edu) if I may be of assistance.