H695: War, Peace, Other in African History
Fall 2011Instructor: Michelle Moyd (History Department)
HOW TO FIND INFORMATION IN THE WELLS LIBRARY:
IU's African Studies collection ranks among the top tier of such collections in the United States. The focus of our collection is on various disciplines across the humanities and social sciences, i.e., history, literature, languages, folklore, political science, economics, anthropology, etc.
We collect in all formats (print, microform, video, audio), and our collection is equally strong in historical sources (including many primary source type materials) as it is in contemporary materials.
You should be able to find most of the sources required for your research papers here without having to do interlibrary loan. However, if you do request items via interlibrary loan, keep in mind that it may take 2-4 weeks for them to arrive.
ACCESS TO THE AFRICAN STUDIES COLLECTION:
1. Ask the Librarian: Marion Frank-Wilson (mfrankwi@indiana.edu, 812-855-1481, Wells Library E660)
PLEASE NOTE: I will be on vacation, October 3-14, 2011.
2. Consult the African Studies Collection
HOW TO FIND SOURCES:
For Books:
Search IUCAT or Worldcat
You may submit an interlibrary loan request directly from WorldCat. Keep in mind that it may take 2-4 weeks for books to arrive, whereas articles can generally be obtained faster.
For Articles:
a) Selected print indexes:
International African Bibliography [online 1998-] (print edition 1971-2007)
Quarterly Index to Periodical Literature for Eastern and Southern Africa [1991-1999] (also
online here)
b) Online indexes can be found by going to:
Africa-specific indexes:
African Studies Collection -- Resources
Particularly useful:
African Studies (now Africa-Wide Information)
Historical Abstracts
PRIMARY SOURCES:
Visit this Primary Sources research guide for help with topics like 'What is a Primary Source?' and how to find primary sources for news, audio/visual, digital collections, archives and more.
To find primary sources at IU, search IUCAT. "Primary Source AND Africa" as a keyword search statement will bring up many useful sources. Since many of the older primary sources are on microfilm, the keywords "Africa AND microform" will also produce good results.
OTHER GOOD PLACES TO LOOK FOR PRIMARY SOURCES:
African Newspapers:
Links to online newspapers from many African countries can be found at: African Newspaper Subscriptions.
For back issues of many of these newspapers, search the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) catalog.
Wells Library African Film Collection:
The Wells Library's extensive African Film Collection includes both feature films and documentaries and is another good source for primary as well as secondary materials.
Wells Library African Pamphlet Collection:
The African Pamphlet Collection (catalogued separately from IUCAT) includes speeches, flyers, and other primary materials. The online database is searchable by keyword. For example, if you are interested in finding primary sources from Angola, type "Angola" in the search box, and you will get a list of relevant materials. This is a print-only collection, and the materials may be read in the African Studies Collection office (Wells E660).
Wells Library African Poster Collection:
African Poster Collection (indices)
Digital Somali Library (searchable finding aid)
For access to posters, please contact Marion Frank-Wilson (mfrankwi@indiana.edu, 812-855-1481, Wells Library E660)
OTHER IU CAMPUS LIBRARIES WITH AFRICAN PRIMARY SOURCES:
Lilly Library:
Papers of Nobel laureated Nadine Gordimer (from South Africa)
Papers of Athol Fugard (well-known South African playwright)
BBC interviews with authors
Archives of Traditional Music
PRIMARY SOURCES IN OTHER LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES:
Africa South of the Sahara: History: Primary Sources
Great collection of websites with access to primary source collections
Monitor relevant listservs, such as H-Afresearch
Search Worldcat
EVALUATING WEBSITES:
Information on how to critically evaluate information on the web can be found at the Wells Library's Department of Teaching & Learning website.
