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Developing African American Collections

Eric Kofi Acree, Africana Librarian, ea18@cornell.edu
John Henrik Clarke Africana Library, Cornell University
607-255-5229

(http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/faculty/ithacaschools.html)

Collection Development:

Collection development is the systematic process lead by library media staff to bring together the materials and equipment to meet users' needs. When selecting material keep the following criteria in mind:

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African American collections consist of:

• Books
• Journals and periodicals
• Databases
• Audiovisual Materials
• Manuscript and Archival Resources.

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Collection Development Web Sites:

• Bowker's Books In Print: A database of bibliographic records of in-print, books, audio tapes, and videos from over 44,000 North American publishers. Many records include full-text reviews.
  Cornell University Library has full access to this online database. It is accessable through the Library Gateway (http://encompass.library.cornell.edu:20028/about/2100).
  
  
• Publishers, Book Dealers, Online Book Stores--These sites can be used to locate books dealing with the African American experience.
  
  o African American Book Stores -http://www.authorsontour.com/bookstores.htm
  o Africa World Press - http://www.africanworld.com/
  o Black Classic Press - http://www.blackclassic.com/
  o Jokae’s African American Books - http://www.jokaes.com/
  o Online Guide to African American Books - http://aabooks.com/
  o Third World Press - http://www.thirdworldpressinc.com/
  o Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com
  o Barnes & Nobel - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
  o Powell's Books—African Studies Section - http://www.powells.com/psection/AfricanAmericanStudies.html
  
  o Bookfinder - http://www.bookfinder.com/

• Book Reviews--These sites can be used to locate reviews on books dealing with the African American experience.
  
  o Black Issues Book Review - http://www.bibookreview.com/
  o Quarterly Black Review of Books - http://www.qbr.com/
  o Chicago Public Library- http://www.chipublib.org/008subject/003cya/librarian.html

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Selected African American Sites:

• African American Online Newspapers - http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/news/aframernews.html
• Afro-American Almanac - http://www.toptags.com/aama/docs/docs.htm
• African American History and Culture (Smithsonian Institution) - http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/afroam.htm
• American Slave Narratives - http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/wpa/wpahome.html
• African American World (PBS) - http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/timeline.html
• Booker T. Washington Papers - http://www.historycooperative.org/btw/
• Greensboro Sit Ins - http://www.sitins.com/
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl - http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7EHYPER/JACOBS/hjhome.htm

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John Henrik Clarke Africana Library - http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/

• Video/DVD Collection - http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/visual/
  This is a listing of Africana Library's video and DVD collection.
  
  
• Microform Collection - http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/microform/
  This is a listing of Africana Library's microfilm and microfiche collection.
  
  
• Subject Guides - http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/guides
  This is a listing of subject guides covering selected topics.
  
  
• Digital Historical Texts - http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/digital/
  
  
• Selected Africana Sites - http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/internet/

• Ask A Librarian--Email the Africana librarian a question, afrlib@cornell.edu
  
  
• Library Instruction--Arrange for the Africana Librarian to visit your classroom, http://www.library.cornell.edu/africana/forms/instruction.html
  

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Borrowing Materials From Cornell University Libraries:

• Talk with your principal about the program set up between Cornell and Ithaca City School District to allow Ithaca teachers to borrow materials from Cornell University Libraries.
  
  
• All New York State residents may borrow materials from Mann, Veterinary, and the Industrial and Labor Relations Libraries. You just have to show proper idenification (New York State drivers license).
  
  
• For further information concerning Cornell University Library Cards, please call or write: Access Services Division, Room 116, John M. Olin Library, Ithaca, NY 14853-5301 (607-255-5069).

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For further reading:

• Best Literature By and About Blacks, Phillip Richards & Neil Schlager, Detroit: Gale Group (2000).
  Dealing exclusively with literature written by blacks and about blacks, this reference book is designed for readers to locate what is needed on most significant works of literature for children and adults. (Books in Print)
  
  
• Black Books Galore!: Guide to More Great African American Children’s Books, Donna Rand and Toni Trent Parker, New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2001).
  Guide to More Great African American Childrens Books includes the latest reviews along with other exciting new materials. This easy-to-use, illustrated reference guide features the best-written, most positive books starring African Americans, including: Quick and lively descriptions of over 400 titles, plus 200 additional recommendations A calendar of great books to match the holidays and seasons Age-specific guidelines for encouraging your young readers–from babies to sixth graders Comprehensive indexes by title, topic, author, and illustrator Profiles and reflections of selected authors and illustrators Listings of award winners and Reading Rainbow Books
  This book features 400 new listings, plus reading plans for historical events, major holidays and seasons. It also offers quick, lively descriptions of over 600 books with easy-to-find listings organised by age level. (Books in Print)

• Black Experience in Children's Books:Selected by the New York Public Library, Black Experience in Children's Books Committee, New York, New York: The Library (1989).
  This book provides titles of books in selected topics.
  
  
• Sacred Fire: The QBR 100 Essential Black Books, Max Rodriguez, ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1999)
  This book captures the full sweep of writing from the diaspora-from Africa tc the Caribbean to America-Sacred Fire is a soul-stirring collection of provocative analysis on 100 works of literature that have shaped and defined black culture for over 200 years. (Books in Print)
  
  
• Spirited Minds: African American Books For Our Sons and Brothers, Archie Givens, New York: W. W. Norton & Company (1997).
  Contains descriptions of more than one hundred outstanding works of literature. (Books in Print)

• Strong Souls Singing: African American Books for Our Daughters and Our Sisters, Archie Givens, ed. New York: Norton, (1998).
  A unique resource containing lively, informative descriptions of more than 100 outstanding works of literature. With selections for readers of all ages, these works of fiction, poetry, bio., autobio., folk tales, drama, & history celebrate the African American (AA) female experience from childhood to adulthood. (Books in Print)
  
  
• Historical Interpretations: The Past, Present, and Future of African-American Representation in Texas Social Studies Textbooks, Tonia Alexander, Austin, Texas: Sunbelt Eakin Press (2003).
  This book reviews the quality and puantity of African-American representation in Texas fourth-grade social studies textbooks, from 1953 through 2003. Changes in this representation over time reveal how contemporary interpretations of African-American history have filtered into textbooks but that further improvement is needed. (Back of Book)
  
  
• Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, James W. Loewen, New York: The New Press (1995).
  Critiques 12 American history textbooks arguing that they contain misinformation, fail to connect present issues with past events, and lack suspense and drama. Retells events in American history to combat these problems. (Books in Print)