The introduction to Afro-American Family History at the Newberry Library: A Research Guide and Bibliography, published in 1988, noted that any bibliography addressing an expanding collection would become outdated to some extent soon after its publication. Five years later we are pleased to report that this is indeed the case. Many new materials pertinent to African American genealogy have been acquired by the Newberry Library in the intervening years. Additional materials have also been discovered which, though part of the collections when the first bibliography was published, were missed. These facts, coupled with the gratifying response to the initial publication, have led us to offer this expanded bibliography.
African American genealogical research, particularly the research of slave genealogy, continues to be one of the more challenging subfields of American genealogy. The difficulties remain. Yet the challenge has been met by a gradually increasing number of researchers, indexers, transcribers, and compilers who not only work to satisfy their own needs, but who also share the results of their efforts through publication. This bibliography is ultimately indebted to these individuals who are working to open up what was until very recently virgin territory. It is hoped that it will not only satisfy some of the needs of researchers in African American genealogy, but will serve to inspire others to make additional contributions. We can look forward to the day when the field will have produced so many publications that to propose another such bibliography will become impracticable. Until that day, it is the Library’s hope that this book will be helpful to researchers who use its collections, as well as to those who may be able to find the resources listed here at other institutions.
The great majority of the titles listed here, including those on microform, are accessible at the Newberry Library, through the paging system. In other words, the researcher must fill out a slip for each title (indicating author, title, and call number). The call slip is then given to the reading room staff who will retrieve the title for the patron. Exceptions are found in those items designated “LFH open shelf,” which are located in the second floor reading room. Library patrons are free to take these books directly from the shelves.
One final note: This bibliography was complied as a research aid and, to some extent, a timesaver; however, it is not a substitute for exploring the catalogs at the Newberry. The researcher is urged, at the very least, to make subject heading searches in both the card and computer catalogs for all the counties in which his or her ancestors resided. No bibliography can list every title of potential value for a genealogical research problem, and this work is certainly no exception to the rule.