Index to Afro-American Reference Resources.

(Hardback)

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Description

This volume makes a much-needed contribution to the field of Afro-American studies by providing subject access to a wealth of materials on the black experience in the Americas. Sources include titles generally considered to be reference tools, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, catalogs, indexes, abstracts, bibliographies, and resource guides, as well as selected resources such as classic history texts and anthologies that fall outside the traditional reference area. Throughout, the emphasis is on the United States, although a significant number of citations from Canada, the Caribbean, and South America are also included. This index to Afro-American reference sources covers specific chapters and subdivisions within works in addition to providing general subject access to entire works that include helpful information on the black experience.

Reviews

In response to the proliferation of materials on the black experience, the compiler has developed a subject index to 190 reference tools and classic works in order to guide users to materials on the topic. The primary emphasis is on the U.S., but Canada, the Caribbean, and South America are included. International materials are selectively indexed. Traditional types of references works (dictionaries, encyclopedias, abstracts, etc.), individual chapters in larger works, and materials that provide reference information have been analyzed and organized by subject... The most valuable parts of the work are the list of cited works and the subject index. The list is a good current bibliography of works on Afro-American topics. The subject index provides access to the works as a whole and to chapters within them under headings such as African Cultural Survivals, Amistad Case -- Bibliography, and Colonization Movements -- Bibliography.-Reference Books Bulletin
Nathaniel Davis's Afro-American Reference (reviewed in WLB, April 1986) codified the current canon of reference works dealing with blacks. This index to the contents of more than 150 works carries Davis's work a step further, providing access to the contents of many of the works in that canon. In addition to reference works, Stevenson has indexed some discursive works that lend themselves to chapter-level indexing. Inevitably omnibus works (e.g., The Negro Almanac) are cited repeatedly. Since these works ought to come to mind immediately when reference librarians seek information about blacks, this book's contribution is in placing the contents of the other works on an equal footing with the familiar.-Wilson Library Bulletin
Stevenson (Illinois) provides a subject index to black studies reference works -- bibliographies, directories, indexes, and catalogs. Nonreference works are included if they contain valuable or elusive information (e.g., John Hope Franklin's From Slavery to Freedom, 6th ed., 1988, for history; Donald F. JHoyce's Gateskeeper of Black Culture, CH, Jul '83, for publishing; Michael Cohn's Black Men of the Sea, 1978). Emphasis is on the US, but a considerable portion of the entries treat Canada, the Caribbean, and South America. Other geographic areas are included if they relate to African cultural retentions in religion, music, or language. This book reveals unsuspected uses for familiar refernce works: among the occupations listed in M.M. Spradling's In Black and White (33rd ed., CH, Feb '81) is espionage agent, and a bibiliography on Campfire Girls can be found in Janet L. Sims-Wood's Progress of Afro-American Women (CH, Oct. '80).-Choice
"Nathaniel Davis's Afro-American Reference (reviewed in WLB, April 1986) codified the current canon of reference works dealing with blacks. This index to the contents of more than 150 works carries Davis's work a step further, providing access to the contents of many of the works in that canon. In addition to reference works, Stevenson has indexed some discursive works that lend themselves to chapter-level indexing. Inevitably omnibus works (e.g., The Negro Almanac) are cited repeatedly. Since these works ought to come to mind immediately when reference librarians seek information about blacks, this book's contribution is in placing the contents of the other works on an equal footing with the familiar."-Wilson Library Bulletin
"Stevenson (Illinois) provides a subject index to black studies reference works -- bibliographies, directories, indexes, and catalogs. Nonreference works are included if they contain valuable or elusive information (e.g., John Hope Franklin's From Slavery to Freedom, 6th ed., 1988, for history; Donald F. JHoyce's Gateskeeper of Black Culture, CH, Jul '83, for publishing; Michael Cohn's Black Men of the Sea, 1978). Emphasis is on the US, but a considerable portion of the entries treat Canada, the Caribbean, and South America. Other geographic areas are included if they relate to African cultural retentions in religion, music, or language. This book reveals unsuspected uses for familiar refernce works: among the occupations listed in M.M. Spradling's In Black and White (33rd ed., CH, Feb '81) is espionage agent, and a bibiliography on Campfire Girls can be found in Janet L. Sims-Wood's Progress of Afro-American Women (CH, Oct. '80)."-Choice
"In response to the proliferation of materials on the black experience, the compiler has developed a subject index to 190 reference tools and classic works in order to guide users to materials on the topic. The primary emphasis is on the U.S., but Canada, the Caribbean, and South America are included. International materials are selectively indexed. Traditional types of references works (dictionaries, encyclopedias, abstracts, etc.), individual chapters in larger works, and materials that provide reference information have been analyzed and organized by subject... The most valuable parts of the work are the list of cited works and the subject index. The list is a good current bibliography of works on Afro-American topics. The subject index provides access to the works as a whole and to chapters within them under headings such as African Cultural Survivals, Amistad Case -- Bibliography, and Colonization Movements -- Bibliography."-Reference Books Bulletin

Author Bio

ROSEMARY M. STEVENSON is Afro-American Bibliographer and Assistant Professor of Library Administration at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.