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The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Afro American Studies

A general guide to library research in Afro American Studies.

Librarian

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Isabel Espinal
Contact:
W.E.B. Du Bois Library
University of Massachusetts

Available by appointment. I can meet via phone, Zoom, or other online venue. To request an online appointment or get any other help, please email iespinal@library.umass.edu or call:
413-545-6971
Website Skype Contact: isabel.espinal2010

Humanities Research Services Librarian

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Maria Rios
she/they
Contact:
Fall 2023: Please email to setup a time to chat! Mariar@umass.edu

Library Guide for Black Women in U.S. History

(Afro American Studies 326)

Professor Amy Jordan, Librarians Isabel Espinal & Maria Rios

Databases

Secondary Sources

 

Primary Sources

 

Citation Management

Use a citation manager such as Zotero or RefWorks to keep track of your research.

Put all your references in one place, create quick and easy bibliographies, build your knowledgebase for the rest of your career. For help, check out the online guides and webinars or Ask a Librarian.

 

RefWorks

 

 

Finding Books

To find books at UMass, you have two options.

1. Start with the Discovery Search, the general search box on the library home page, www.library.umass.edu.  

Advantages:

This search gives you access to books and articles and more.

 

2. Or, use the Five Colleges Library Catalog.

Advantages:

This catalog lets you search in some very specifc ways, for example, by Library of Congress Subject Heading. Be as specific as possible in your searching. Start with a subject search (use keyword if subject yields no results). Search by author, title, subject, keyword, call number, journal title, etc. For materials on a specific subject, enter your term(s) into the Subject or Keyword search boxes.

Sample searches:

To find books outside the five colleges, try

1. WorldCat - The combined catalogs of most U.S. libraries. Material not owned by UMass Amherst can usually be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan.

worldcat

2. Commonwealth Catalog -  Discover and request (with a UMass Amherst Libraries barcode) popular books, audio books, movies and more from a wide array of Massachusetts public and smaller academic libraries.

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