AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY
A Research Guide
What key words will help me find information about African American History?
Where can I find print resources about African American History?
What are some good online resources about African American History?
SELECTED SOURCES AT PAMUNKEY REGIONAL LIBRARY
This guide tells how to find information in the library about African-American History. If you need assistance, please feel free to ask the Library staff.
1. What key words will help me find information about African American history?
To find books that can be checked out, choose the SUBJECT search in the online catalog, and type (one at a time) these subjects:
You may also want to browse subjects: when in the catalog, choose BROWSE and type in “African Americans”. This will allow you to browse narrower subjects within the larger subject heading. Keep in mind, though, that this will include both fiction and non-fiction works.
2. Where can I find print resources on African American History in the library?
Most of the books will be shelved according to their Dewey Decimal Classification number in the Non-fiction Stacks at:
| 305.8 |
[Racial, ethnic, national groups] |
| 323 |
[Civil & political rights] |
| 973 |
[United States History] |
| B |
[Biographies] |
When you are doing research, make sure that you search in the reference area as well; these books cannot be checked out like the general collection can, but there is a lot of valuable information available. Some reference books you might look at might include
|
R 973 AFR 10TH ED
|
The African American Almanac |
Available at Ashland, Hanover, and Mechanicsville. |
| R 920 AFR |
African American Lives |
Available at Ashland, Goochland, King & Queen, and Mechanicsville. |
|
R 920 AFR
|
The African American National Biography
|
Available at Ashland. |
|
R 973 CIM
|
Atlas of African-American History |
Available at Ashland, Goochland, and Mechanicsville. |
| R 973 HOR |
Chronology of African American History: From 1492 to the Present |
Available at Ashland, Atlee, Mechanicsville, and Montpelier. |
|
R 973 ENC
|
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: The Black Experience in the Americas |
Available at Atee, Goochland, and Upper King William. |
| R 323.1 ENC |
The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in America |
Available at Atlee. |
|
R YA 973 STU
|
Student Almanac of African American History |
Available at Goochland and West Point. |
Your library may not have all these resources available, but other resources will be available — when in doubt, just ask the Library staff.
3. What are some good online resources about African American history?
You should check out our Electronic Resources page. We offer online reference resources that include General Reference, Student Resources, and Biographical Resources. Most of these are available to you at home. If you are logging in from outside the library, you will need your library card number, which you will find on the back of your library card.
In addition to the resources the library provides, there are a variety of excellent websites that include information on this topic, such as:
If you have a particular search term that you would like to use, go to our Rollyo page to search all these resources at once.
You may also want to check out the resources at the Internet Public Library. This website will provide you with links to reliable information.
As always, please feel free to ask a Library Staff member, or email us at Ask a Librarian!
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compiled by the PRL Reference and Training Department (2009)
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