Library Sources for the Study of Negro Life and History

The exploration of fields of study on the Negro has reached a high peak of production during the past few years. It has suggested a survey of the extant organized collections of literature on the Negro available for -research and literary projects. This survey attempts to point out some of the primary collections on the Negro and related subjects, especially those which consist of a representative number of books and pamphlets sufficient in number to aid a research worker with his problems and to supply background materials for literary works. The accompanying tables indicate the large number of libraries that have special collections on the Negro and related subjects and the extent of the materials to be found in them Students of American literature and history often think only of the resources of the large college, university or public library. In the Eastern part of our country it is probably generally true that students of Negro life and history consult the well-known collections on the subject in New York and Washington, without seeking related and additional material shelved away in historical societies, state libraries, private collections, public and special libraries Specific studies of the Negro often necessitate consultation of topics in related fields, such as the great body of slavery and antislavery literature, the literature of the confederacy, of the reconstruction and civil war periods, materials on Africa, folklore, ethnology, etc. This survey will show the location of important groups of such literature and summarize in a descriptive way some of the more important of these collections, so that workers in this field may have at least an elementary chart to guide them through this maze of historical materials

Sociology · American Literature and Humor Studies · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · History · Race, History, and American Society