ENG 4580: Studies in African-American Literature
Library Sources and Strategies for Finding Information
This guide provides a brief outline of reference books, databases, and search strategies to help you find the sources you need for your research papers. This guide is not intended to be comprehensive for each different topic. For more information and assistance, please contact Glenn Ellen Stilling, come by the Reference Desk, or try our Ask a Librarian chat reference service
- Reference books
- Bibliographies
- Finding books through the WNCLN Catalog
- Finding books beyond WNCLN: searching WorldCat
- Databases
- Multidisciplinary
- Literary
- Music
- History
- Full Text Collections
Reference books
Afro-American Writers, 1940-1955 (Dictionary of Literary Biography vol. 76). ASU Main Stacks PS21 .D48 v. 76
Afro-American Writers after 1955: Dramatists and Prose Writers . (Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 38). ASU Main Stacks PS21 .D48 v. 38
Afro-American Writers before the Harlem Renaissance . (Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 50). ASU Main Stacks PS21 .D48 v. 50
Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940 . (Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 51). ASU Main Stacks PS21 .D48 v. 51
Afro-American Women Writers, 1746-1933: An Anthology and Critical Guide . ASU Main Stacks PS508 .N3 A36
Black American Poets and Dramatists: Before the Harlem Renaissance. Electronic Book
Black American Poets and Dramatists of the Harlem Renaissance . Electronic Book
Black American Women Poets and Dramatists. Electronic Book
Contemporary Black American Poets and Dramatists. Electronic Book
Major Black American Writers through the Harlem Renaissance. Electronic Book
Major Modern Black American Writers. Electronic Book
African American Authors, 1745-1945: Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook . ASU Main Stacks PS 153 .N5 A32
African American Writers . 2 vols. ASU Reference PS153 .N5 A344
African American Writers: A Dictionary . ASU Main Stacks PS153 .N5 A3444
Harlem Renaissance and Beyond: Literary Biographies of 100 Black Women Writers, 1900-1945 . ASU Reference PS153 .N5 R65
Oxford Companion to African American Literature . ASU Reference PS153 .N5 096
Black Plots & Black Characters: A Handbook of Afro-American Literature . ASU Main Stacks PS153 .N5 S65
Contemporary Musicians - ASU Reference ML385. C615
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music . ASU Music Reference ML 100 .G16 1998 [available in the Music Library]
New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , 2d edition. ASU Music Reference ML100 .N48 2000 [available in the Music Library]
Return to TopFinding and using bibliographies
Bibliographies--whether they're book-length, or found at the end of a book or article you're using are valuable for research in general. They are essential, however, for historical research. They can inform you about books or articles that your database searches didn't turn up either because of the search words you used, or because the database didn't index the journal the article was published in. They may also list articles older than the 1980's to present (most databases don't list any materials older than these dates). Bibliographies may tell you about primary sources that you wouldn't have known how to search for.
A few examples:
Jordan, Casper LeRoy. A Bibliographical Guide to African-American Women Writers. ASU Reference Z1229 .N39 J67
Stephens, Claire Gatrell. Coretta Scott King Award Books: Using Great Literature with Children and Young Adults. ASU IMC Reference 016.8108 S832co
Valade, Roger M. The Schomberg Center Guide to Black Literature from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. ASU Reference PN841 .V36
Spirited Minds: African American Books for Our Sons and Brothers. ASU IMC Reference 016.8108 S759
What Do I Read Next? Multicultural Literature. ASU IMC Reference 016.8108 W555
Southern Black Creative Writers, 1829-1953: Biobibliographies . ASU Reference Z1229 .N39 F67
Finding books through the WNCLN Catalog
- Try a Keyword Search first. Your strategy will either be to use a specific word or phrase (examples: hiphop, Eminem) or to construct a more extensive search strategy using Boolean operators and nesting.
Examples: haiti* and (music or musician* or jazz) tupac shakur*
- Do a Subject Search using Library of Congress Subject Headings, either from highly relevant books that your Keyword Search turned up, or from fairly broad headings that you find by browsing the Catalog by Subject.
Examples: wonder stevie prohibited books hip-hop
Another important strategy for searching for books (using either keyword or subject searching) is to search more broadly than your exact topic. Books on the broader subject might have chapters or sections on your topic.
Finding books beyond WNCLN: searching WorldCat
Search the WorldCat database.WorldCat Lists over 48 million books, manuscripts and other materials on all subjects in libraries around the world. To find the "best books" on your topic, you may need to borrow books from other libraries. In order to borrow these materials you will need to use Interlibrary loan and set up an Illiad account . To set-up an account go to https://www.illiad.library.appstate.edu/illiadlogon.html then select First Time Users
Examples: wonder stevie in Subject Phrase
limit to English language; books or Internet resources; not fiction, not juvenile
tupac w shakur+ in Keyword
limit to English language; books or Internet resources; not fiction, not juvenile
Databases
Depending on the focus of your topic, you might find useful information in one of the databases listed below. Be aware that there is overlap in the journals indexed by the various databases. You may also consult the list of Databases by Subject to figure out which databases will index journals or books from other perspectives related to your topic (ex. education, literature, history, women's studies).
Multidisciplinary :
Project Muse - coverage includes the full text of journals in the following areas: Classics; Cultural Studies; Economics; Education; Film, Theater and Performing Arts; History; Judaic Studies; Language; Law; Literature; Math; Music; Philosophy and Religion; Philosophy and Science; and Politics. Primary coverage is in Cultural Studies, History, and Literature.
JSTOR - coverage includes the full text of journals in the following areas: African American Studies; Anthropology; Asian Studies; Ecology; Economics; Education; Finance; History; Literature; Mathematics; Philosophy; Political Science; Population Studies; Sociology; Statistics
Essay and General Literature Index - coverage focuses on the humanities and social sciences, with subject coverage ranging from economics, political science, and history to criticism of literary works, drama, and film.
Literary:
MLA - coverage includes literature, film, folklore, languages, and linguistics.
Example: young al in Descriptors Phrase
Language phrase: English
Music:
International Index to Music Periodicals - covers nearly all aspects of the world of music, from the most scholarly studies to the latest crazes.
RILM Music Abstracts - coverage of music and various other fields as they relate to music including: anthropology, dance, ethnomusicology, historical musicology, instruments and voice, librarianship, literature, dramatic arts and visual arts, music therapy, philosophy and physics, and sociology.
Grove Music Online - covers of all types of music from ancient times to the present.
History:
America: History & Life - United States and Canadian history and culture from prehistoric times to the present, including Popular Culture, American Studies, Literature/Folklore, Genealogy, Women's Studies/Gender Studies, Multicultural Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, History of Science, Economics, Business, Education, Music, Art, and Law.
Full Text Collections:
African American Artists on Disc [available only in Belk Library]
Twentieth Century African-American Poetry - coverage includes 10,000 poems by approximately 70 of the most important African American poets of the last century.
African American Poetry (1750- 1900) - coverage includes nearly 3,000 poems written by African-American poets in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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Compiled by Glenn Ellen Stilling, stillngges@appstate.edu
Last content update 08/19/08