Books are shelved by Library of Congress call numbers. Use Avalon, the library's online catalog, to find books and eBooks. The following subject headings and terms can be useful search terms in many of the databases including the library catalog.
In the Library of Congress subject headings, the standard search term for African American or Black American is African American, but works may also be listed under African Americans (plural) when the subject deals with African Americans as a group. The term African American is used primarily as an adjective modifying another group designation. In other words, African Americans -- Civil rights deals with the civil rights of African Americans, while African American Civil rights workers refers to civil rights workers who are African American.
In Murrell Library, books with African Americans as the primary subject heading have call numbers beginning with E185. You can browse both print books and eBooks by using Avalon and doing a call number search on E185. Many other books with African Americans as subject heading will be located elsewhere in the library depending upon content, so search Avalon to make sure you don't miss anything. Some subject headings include:
When searching for groups who temporarily reside in the United States (such as resident aliens, students from abroad, etc.), use Blacks -- United States. For searches involving blacks who do not reside in the United States, use Blacks -- [country, city, etc.]. For example: Blacks -- Brazil.