Black Studies: Background Info

Focused, academic encyclopedias, like the ones listed on this page, are a great place to start a research project. Encyclopedia entries offer excellent background information for any topic as well as suggestions of articles and books to consult. PSU Library has many print and electronic encyclopedias. Please ask a librarian if you need help finding a good one to use.

The Reading Room at the YMCA in La Boca, Texas, circa early 1900s, from the Jesse Alexander Photograph Collection at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library

These encyclopedias are available online to PSU students, faculty, and staff.

Most print encyclopedias are available on the second floor of the library. However, some may be available in the basement.

Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American experience
DT14 .A37435 2005 | 2nd Floor

Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass
E185 .E545 2006 | 2nd Floor

Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: The Black Experience in the Americas
E185 .E54 2006 | 2nd Floor

Encyclopedia of African American Society
E185 .E546 2005 | Basement

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore
GR111.A47 G74 2006 | 2nd Floor

Black Women in America: an Historical Encyclopedia

E185.86 .B542 1993 | Basement