Yale University Library Research Guides: AFAM 480: Senior Colloquium: African American Studies: Home

Yale Library Search Tools

The main search tools for finding books, articles, databases, archival collections, and more at Yale (and beyond) can all be found on the "Find, Request, and Use" page of the library's website. Here are a few quick refreshers, but be sure to visit the page for a full overview:

Orbis (classic catalog)
Searches books, e-books, journals (but not individual articles), government documents, and other physical and digital items. It's the classic catalog of Yale Library *not* including items from the Law Library. Can be used to find both primary and secondary sources.
Morris (classic catalog of Law Library)
If your topic relates to legal history or potentially involves research in legal materials, be sure to include Morris in your search, or alternatively to use Books+ (which searches both Morris and Orbis).
Quicksearch
A combined search of the library's books, journals and journal articles, licensed databases, digitized archival collections, and more. Searches Orbis as well as Morris, which is the Law Library catalog. A vast, Google-like search, but some library materials will still not be retrieved by it, and the advanced search refinements and options to use just one part of Quicksearch or another can be key to running efficient, manageable, and successful searches.
Articles+
Within Quicksearch, Articles+ can be a powerful tool for finding individual journal, newspaper, and magazine articles.
Books+
Within Quicksearch, Books+ will limit your search to the books (and reports and numerous other monographs, as opposed to journal articles) that are found across the Yale Libraries. Orbis + Morris (Law Library) collections are searched together.
Archives at Yale
The search portal for finding archival materials at Yale. Look for the Scope & Contents notes, inventories, and PDF Finding Aids to assess the relevance of materials to your research project.
Also see the Guide to Using Special Collections at Yale University for more information on finding, requesting, and using archival materials in the Yale Library.
Yale Library Digital Collections
Access to millions of digitized works and images from the Yale Library. This site is a living database, and new materials are added regularly.

Finding Archives Beyond Yale

Archive Grid

Archive Grid contains records for finding aids from over 1000 archival institutions. Start here when you are seeking to discover if there are any relevant archival collections for your research beyond Yale. The "Summary View" option is a good way to filter your search results after running a search. This is an open access resource/no login required.

Background sources

Background or "reference" sources are a great place to start in building your bibliographies. These are scholarly encyclopedias, handbooks, bibliographies, and similar sources that will often contain lengthy essays with background information on a topic and overviews of the relevant scholarship. Citations to the secondary literature will always be included, and often so too will citations to primary sources.

Cambridge Core

Includes the Cambridge Histories and Cambridge Companions. Examples of volumes within these series include:

The Cambridge Companion to Black Theology

Oxford African American Studies Center

Comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture, coupled with precise search and browse capabilities.

Examples of articles include:

"Florida A&M University" by Abha Sood Patel

"Butler, Octavia E." by Cynthia A. Callahan (this is the most recent of several articles on Butler)

"Oral Histories" by Anthony Edwards (in Black Women in America, 2nd ed.)

Oxford Bibliographies

Oxford Bibliographies offers peer-reviewed annotated bibliographies on specific topics across varied subject areas. Each of these features an introduction to the topic. Bibliographies can be browsed by subject area and searched by keyword. Subject areas include African American Studies, African Studies, Anthropology, Art History, Cinema and Media Studies, Literary and Critical Theory, Political Science, Sociology, and more.

Examples of articles include:

"Speculative Fiction" by Esther L. Jones

"Afrofuturism" by Daylanne K. English

Oxford Handbooks Online

Includes numerous handbooks, usually with lengthy chapter overviews of topics. A few examples of titles that are part of this collection are The Oxford Handbook of African American Theology, The Oxford Handbook of African American Citizenship, 1865-Present, and The Oxford Handbook of the African American Slave Narrative, as well as:

The Oxford Handbook of Oral History

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History

Examples of articles include:

"Black Girlhood in 20th-Century America" by Miya Carey

"African American Soldiers in World War I" by Amanda M. Nagel

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature

Examples of articles include:

"Toni Morrison" by Kristine Yohe

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion

Examples of articles include:

"African Americans and Religion" by Sylvester A. Johnson

ProQuest Black Studies