Libraries Ask Us

Afro American Studies

A general guide to library research in Afro American Studies.

Library Guide for Black Women in U.S. History

(Afro American Studies 326)

Professor Amy Jordan, Librarians Isabel Espinal & Maria Rios

Databases

Secondary Sources

America: History & Life This link opens in a new window
Journal articles, dissertations, and book reviews, many in full text, relating to United States and Canadian history and prehistory, 1954-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Black Studies Center This link opens in a new window
Combines key indices (Schomburg, IIBP, etc) to scholarship and primary sources in Afro-American studies.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
ERIC This link opens in a new window
Education journal articles (EJ references) and ERIC documents (ED references), 1967-present. EDs before 1997 are requestable using the Microforms Request page and usable in the Microforms Vewing Room in the LC.
A free version of ERIC is available for all to use at this link: https://eric.ed.gov/.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Google Scholar This link opens in a new window
Use to access many UMass online journal subscriptions.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

You can access Google Scholar with UMLinks buttons from outside the UMass Amherst IP range ("off campus") by two methods:

1. Access Google Scholar through the Library web site by using this link.
2. Go to generic Google Scholar.
a. Click on "Settings."
b. Click on Library links.
c. Type in "University of Massachusetts" or "UMass Amherst" (or a few other variations).
d. Check "University of Massachusetts Amherst - UMass Check for Full Text" and Save.
e. You will be asked to authenticate somewhere along the way to full text.

Primary Sources

African American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Seven nineteenth-century African American newspapers in full text, including advertising, 1827-1902.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
American Memory This link opens in a new window
Large collection of reproductions of primary source material from U.S. Library of Congress: pictures, pamphlets and recordings. Earliest dates from 1400s.
Content is freely available for use by all.
Black Abolitionist Papers This link opens in a new window
Papers and articles of 300 US and European anti-slavery activists of color, 1830-1865.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Women and Social Movements in the United States 1600-2000 This link opens in a new window
Primary and secondary sources on women's involvement in historical events in the United States. Includes books, pamphlets, papers, and articles.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Newspaper: Atlanta Daily World This link opens in a new window
Full-text of black newspaper, with coverage from 1931-2010.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Newspaper: Chicago Defender This link opens in a new window
Full-text of black weekly newspaper, with coverage from 1909-2010.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Newspaper: Baltimore Afro-American This link opens in a new window
Full-text of black newspaper, with coverage from 1893-2010.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Historical Newspaper: Pittsburgh Courier This link opens in a new window
One of the leading newspapers of the African American community in the U.S., with coverage from 1911-2010.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Citation Management

Use a citation manager such as Zotero 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.

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:

African American Women -- History

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.

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.