Harlem Renaissance

Local holdings of library's books, videos, government documents, manuscript collections and journal holdings. (Note that the journal information in the catalog tells what issues we have but does not index individual articles.) Some web sites are also cataloged.

Subject Headings

Select Suggested Subject Headings

African American arts
African American artists -- Biography
African Americans Intellectual Life 21st Century  
American literature -- African American authors -- History and criticism
Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance Bibliography
Harlem Renaissance -- Handbooks, manuals, etc
Harlem (New York, N.Y.) -- Intellectual life -- 20th century

The library catalog and WorldCat use Library of Congress Subject Headings. This list of authorized subject headings is available in the 5-volume set at the Reference Desk. However, you can start with keyword searches to gather some relevant titles, then look at their subject headings to discover the official terms to use.

• Libraries and database creators try to structure language in a way to make browsable lists.  Subject terms tend to be set up in a hierarchical manner.  To understand this better, try a Keyword search in the Randall Library Catalog for "Jazz"  Then, do a Subject search on " Jazz "  The hierarchical display of the subject search allows you to browse through results for various aspects and periods of history.
• Subject headings are not "natural language." For example, books on social history commonly use the subheadings Social conditions or Social life and customs .
• Keep in mind that the most specific terms will be used as subject headings. You should start specific, but also keep in mind that a broader search may yield items with chapters on your specific topic. Books on the Harlem Renaissance will be found under Harlem Renaissance but you will also find books with chapters on the topic under African Americans -- New York (State) -- New York.
• Just because an item's subject heading does not include "History" as a subdivision does not mean it has no history in it. In particular, look at the publication date. It may be a source contemporary to the period.
• There are several commonly used subject subheadings that indicate an item is a primary source. Look for or search these subheadings:
  • correspondence*
  • diaries*
  • interviews*
  • personal narratives
  • pictorial works
  • songs and music
  • sources
  • speeches, addresses, etc.*
  • treaties

Browsing

After finding some sources through searching the online catalog, be sure to browse the shelves near these times. The call numbers are devised to place materials on the same subject together on the shelf. In the catalog, the call number is presented as a link, so you can even browse the shelves when searching the catalog:

You may also wish to browse the Reference Collection to see what special sources are available. A basic outline of the Library of Congress Classification Scheme is at http://library.uncw.edu/guides/library_of_congress_classification. For more detail, see the outline from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html