The Springfield Library provides many reference resources for the study of African-American history. The following is a shortlist of materials available in the Reference Department at the Central Library. In addition, the Central Library and branches have a large collection of materials available for borrowing, including videos, CDs, DVDs, audiocassettes, and books for K-12 students.

General

• The African-American almanac , Detroit: Gale Research. Ref 973.0496073 AFRICAN v.2000
• The African American encyclopedia , New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2001. Ref 973.0496073 AFRICAN 2001 (10 vols)
• African American firsts in science & technology , Raymond B. Webster. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Ref 508.996073 WEBSTER African
• Africana: the encyclopedia of the African and African American experience , editors: Kwame Anthony Appiah, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2005. Ref 960.03 AFRICANA (5 vols)
• Black Americans: a statistical sourcebook , Boulder, Colo.: Numbers & Concepts, 1990-2001. Ref 305.896073 BLACK AM 2001
• Black firsts: 2,000 years of extraordinary achievement , Jessie Carney Smith, editor. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1994. Ref 909.0496 B561
• Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, Colin Palmer, editor. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. Ref 973.0496073 ENCYLOPE 2006 (6 vols)

Directories

• The Black pages of New England , Brockton, MA: The Black Pages of New England. Ref 338.6422025 BLACK 2002
• Financial aid for African Americans , El Dorado Hills, Calif.: Reference Service Press. ERC Ref 378.3089 FINANCIA 2006/08
• National minority and women-owned business directory , Minneapolis, MN: Diversity Information Resources, 2005. Ref 338.7025 NATIONAL
• Organizing Black America: an encyclopedia of African American associations , Nina Mjagkij, editor. New York: Garland Pub., 2001. Ref 305.896073 ORGANIZI
• Who's who among African Americans , New York: Gale Research, 2006. Ref 920.073 WHOS WHO 2006

Biography: General

• African Americans at war: an encyclopedia , Jonathan Sutherland. California: ABC-CLIO, 2003. Ref 355.0092396 AFRICAN (2 vols)
• African Biography , Virginia Curtin Knight, editor. Detroit: UXL, 1999. Ref 920.067 A258 (3 vols)
• Black women in America , New York: Oxford Univ. Pr., 2005. Ref 305.4889607 BLACK (3 vols)
• Contemporary Black biography , Detroit : Gale Research Inc., c1992. Ref 920.009296 C767 (57 vols)
• Distinguished African American political and governmental leaders , James Haskins ; foreword by Eleanor Holmes Norton. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1999. Ref 973.0496073 HASKINS Distingu
• Notable Black American men , Jessie Carney Smith, editor. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999. Ref 920.7108996 N843
• Notable Black American women , Jessie Carney Smith, editor. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992-2003. Ref 920.7208996 N843 (3 vols)

Biography: Literature, Music and the Arts

• African American art and artists , Samella Lewis. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990. Ref 704.0396073 L588a 1990
• African American writers , Valerie Smith, editor in chief. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2001. Ref 810.9896073 AFRICAN 2000 (2 vols.)
• All music guide to Jazz: the experts' guide to the best jazz recordings , Michael Erlewine, editor. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books, 1998. Ref 781.650266 A416
• All music guide to Soul: the definitive guide to R&B and Soul , Vladimir Bogdanov et al. Michigan: AMG, 2003. Ref 781.644016 ALL 2003
• AMG all music guide to the blues: the experts' guide to the best blues recordings , Michael Erlewine, editor. San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books, 1999. Ref 781.6430266 AMG All
• The biographical encyclopedia of jazz , Leonard Feather and Ira Gitler, with the assistance of Swing journal, Tokyo. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Ref 781.650922 FEATHER Biograph
• Black conductors , D. Antoinette Handy. New Jersey: Scarecrow Pr., 1995. Ref 781.45092 H192b
• Black women in American bands & orchestras , D. Antoinette Handy. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1981 Ref 780.21 H192b
• Blues who's who: a biographical dictionary of Blues singers , Sheldon Harris. New Rochelle, N.Y.: Arlington House, 1979. Ref 780.1 H243b
• Encyclopedia of African literature , Simon Gikandi, editor. New York: Routledge, 2003. Ref 809.89603 ENCYCLOPEDIA
• A history of African-American artists from 1792 to the present , Romare Bearden & Harry Henderson. 1st ed. New York: Pantheon Books, 1993. Ref 704.0396073 B38h
• International dictionary of black composers , editor Samuel A. Floyd Jr. Chicago; London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999. Ref 780.922 INTERNAT (2 vols)
• Jazz , Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather and Brian Priestley; with contributions by Chris Parker, et al.; photographs by Jak Kilby, et al. London: Rough Guides; London; New York: distributed by the Penguin Group, 1995. Ref 781.65092 C23j
• The Oxford companion to African American literature , editors, William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster, Trudier Harris; foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Ref 810.80896 O98
• The rough guide to Reggae , Steve Barrow and Peter Dalton; photographs by Adrian Boot, et al., 3rd ed., Orla Duane, editor. London: Rough Guides, 2004. Ref 781.646 BARROW 2004
• St. James guide to Black artists , with a preface by Howard Dodson; editor, Thomas Riggs. Detroit: St. James Press, 1997. Ref 709.2396 S133

Biography: Science

• Blacks in science and medicine , Vivian O. Sammons. New York: Hemisphere Pub. Corp., 1990. Ref 509.22 S189b
• Distinguished African American scientists of the 20th century , James H. Kessler, et al.; with Sigrid Berge, portrait artist, and Alyce Neukirk, computer graphics artist. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1996. Ref 509.2273 D633
• Notable Black American scientists , Kristine Krapp, editor. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999. Ref 509.2273 N843

Biography: Sports

• African Americans in sports , David K. Wiggins. New York: Sharpe Reference, 2004. Ref 796.0922 AFRICAN (2 vols)
• The biographical encyclopedia of the Negro baseball leagues , James A. Riley; with a foreword by Monte Irvin. 1st Carroll & Graf/Richard Gallen ed. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2002. Ref 796.357092 RILEY (In process)
• Black Olympian medalists , James A. Page. Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1991. Ref 796.0922 P143b

History: General

• The African American atlas , Molefiki Asante and Mark T. Mattson. New York: Macmillan, 1998. Ref 973.0496073 A798a
• African Folklore: An Encyclopedia , Philip M. Peek and Kwesi Yankah, editors. New York: Routledge, 2004. Ref 398.09603 AFRICAN
• Black heritage sites: an African American odyssey and finder's guide , Nancy C. Curtis. Chicago: American Library Association, 1996. Ref 973.0496073 C945b
• Chronology of African American history: from 1492 to the present , Alton Hornsby, Jr. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Ref 973.0496073 H784c 1997
• Chronology of world slavery , Junius P. Rodriguez; foreword by Orlando Patterson. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1999. Ref 306.36209 RODRIGUE Chronolo
• Dictionary of Afro-American slavery , edited by Randall M. Miller and John David Smith. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1997. Ref 973.0496073 DICTIONA
• Dictionary of Afro-Latin American civilization , Benjamin Núñez, with the assistance of the African Bibliographic Center. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1980. Ref 980.003 +N922d
• Historic landmarks of Black America ,George Cantor; foreword by Robert L. Harris, Jr. Detroit: Gale Research, 1991. Ref 917.304928 C168h
• The Historical encyclopedia of world slavery , Junius P. Rodriguez, general editor. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1997. Ref 306.36203 H629 (2 vols)
• Historical statistics of Black America , compiled & edited by Jessie Carney Smith and Carrell Peterson Horton. New York: Gale Research, 1995. Ref 973.0496073 H629 1995 (2 vols)
• Macmillan encyclopedia of world slavery , edited by Paul Finkelman, Joseph C. Miller. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, Simon & Schuster Macmillan; London: Simon & Schuster and Prentice Hall International, 1998. Ref 306.36203 M228 (2 vols)
• The new atlas of African history , G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville; cartography, Lorraine Kessel; designed and produced by Carta. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991. Ref 911.6 F877n

History: Primary Sources

• African American frontiers: slave narratives and oral histories , Alan Govenar. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2000. Ref 973.0496073 GOVENAR African
• African American history in the press, 1851-1899: from the coming of the Civil War to the rise of Jim Crow as reported and illustrated in selected newspapers of the time , the Schneider collection. Detroit: Gale, 1996. Ref 973.0496073 A2587h (2 vols)
• Lift every voice: African American oratory, 1787-1900 , edited by Philip S. Foner and Robert J. Branham. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1998. Ref 973.0496073 L626
• The Negro in American History , Mortimer J. Adler, general editor, Charles Van Doren, editor and George Ducas, executive editor, Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corp. c1972. Ref 973.0496073 N312 (3 vols)
• Voices of multicultural America: notable speeches delivered by African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native Americans, 1790-1995 , Deborah Gillan Straub, editor. New York: Gale Research, 1996. Ref 815.008092 V87

History: Civil Rights Movement

• The Eyes on the prize civil rights reader , general editors, Clayborne Carson, et al. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1991. Ref 973.0496073 E97
• The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African-American civil rights: from emancipation to the twenty-first century , edited by Charles D. Lowery and John F. Marszalek; foreword by David J. Garrow. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003. Ref 323.1196073 GREENWOOD (2 vols)

Literary Criticism

• African writers , C. Brian Cox, editor. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons; London: Simon & Schuster Prentice Hall International, 1997. Ref 896 A258 (2 vols)
• Black literature criticism: excerpts from criticism of the most significant works of Black authors over the past 200 years , James P. Draper, editor. Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. Ref 809.8896 B561 (2 vols)
• Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance , Aberjhani and Sandra L. West. New York: Facts On File, 2003. Ref 810.9896073 ENCYCLOPEDIA
• The Harlem Renaissance: a Gale critical companion , Janet Witalec, editor. Detroit: Gale Research, 2003. Ref 810.9896073 HARLEM (3 vols)

Religion and Mythology

• A Dictionary of African mythology , Harold Scheub. New York: Oxford University Pr., 2000. Ref 299.6203 SCHEUB
• Encyclopedia of African American religions , edited by Larry G. Murphy, J. Gordon Melton, Gary L. Ward. New York: Garland Pub., 1993. Ref 200.89 E56

If you need assistance, call the Reference Desk at 413-263-6828 ext. 213 or Ask A Librarian.

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Updated 1/2006

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