The African American Collection is dedicated to the celebration and presentation of the African American tradition. The collection holds over 4000 books on Africa and Africans that relate to the history and the study of people of African descent living in the Americas and the Caribbean. Literature, broad anthologies and works of Pan African and African American literature and criticism that cover groups of authors or the body of African and African-American literature are found in this collection.

Other Resources

Some books with related subjects are shelved with other collections in the library. Pan African studies and the study of African Americans are broad, complex areas, and will likely lead to books and other library materials in many subject areas and be shelved in many areas of the library. For example, there are many, many books by and about Africa and African Americans shelved with biology, political science, history or literature books. The shelves in this location just won't hold all of the books that relate to these subjects!

• Some new books and novels. Looking for Toni Morrison's newest book? Walter Mosley? The Browsing Collection on the First Floor has all the latest novels and other recent popular non-fiction. After a few months, they are shelved with the rest of the literature collection, on the Fourth Floor.
• Literary works (or criticism of these works) by individual African-American authors are located in their appropriate subject area of the general shelves (LC Classification P-PS…)
• Other books on Africa and Africans (including individual countries and works about the African continent and its peoples as a whole.)

In addition to books, the University Libraries provide oral histories, photographs, manuscripts, videos, music and other materials that complement this collection.