Library Resources
A Bibliography for African History
Booth Library has a large collection of learning resources to support the study of African history by undergraduates, graduates and faculty. The materials are held in the reference collection, the main book holdings, the journal collection and the online full-text databases. Books and journal articles from other libraries may be obtained using interlibrary loan.
Searching the EIU Library Catalog
Searching the EIU Library Catalog
To find books, ebooks, videos, and other materials held in the library use the EIU Library Catalog
To search the catalog enter your keywords in the search box and search "Library Catalog".
The search results may be narrowed by using the "Tweak your results" limiting tools on the right hand side of the page.
Click on the item title to bring up the detailed bibliographic record. The item's location, call number, and status are needed to find it in Booth Library.
Browsing for books on African history
Books in Booth Library are shelved by call number. Browsing for books can help familiarize you with the collection. Books may be borrowed using your Panther Card.
To find books on African history, browse the shelves in these call numbers for the following subject areas:
DT1-3415: History of Africa
GN550-674: Ethnic Groups, by region or country
Reference Books
Reference Book and Electronic Reference Resources
Reference materials help students get started with their research by providing a brief overview of the subject. Types of reference materials include encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and companions. Booth Library has reference materials in print and electronic formats.
Reference books are located on the 3rd floor (north) and can be found by searching the EIU Library Catalog.
- Reference databasesA list of all reference databases licensed by Booth Library.
Examples of reference books related to African history:
Encyclopedia of African History 3-Volume Set by
Covering the entire continent from Morocco, Libya, and Egypt in the north to the Cape of Good Hope in the south, and the surrounding islands from Cape Verde in the west to Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles in the east, the Encyclopedia of African History is a new A-Z reference resource on the history of the entire African continent. With entries ranging from the earliest evolution of human beings in Africa to the beginning of the twenty-first century, this comprehensive three volume Encyclopedia is the first reference of this scale and scope. Also includes 99 maps.
Call Number: DT20 .E53 2005 REFISBN: 1579582451Publication Date: 2005
Historical Dictionary of Zambia by
In many respects, Zambia is an African success story. From a territory whose borders were drawn with minimal attention either to the ethnic geography of the day or to natural features that combined (and sometimes divided) dozens of distinct ethnic groups, rose a nation with a long record of peace that has enjoyed decades of constitutional rule, and even, in recent years, an increasingly competitive democracy. Perhaps most improbably, the country has forged a national identity. Unfortunately, peace, constitutionalism, democracy, and nationhood constantly face challenges, such as in the elections of 2006 when the ugly language of ethnic confrontation found renewed currency. Moreover, Zambia's economic record and prospects have been on the decline. After over four decades, per capita incomes are lower than they were at the dawn of independence, and 95 percent of its people live on less that $2 per day. Despite repeated efforts to diversify the economy, copper exports and foreign assistance are the main sources of the vast majority of Zambia's foreign exchange earnings. And most devastating at all, the AIDS pandemic has already lowered the average life expectancy below 40. For a country one might regard as "heading in the right direction," Zambia has a long way to go. The third edition of Historical Dictionary of Zambia, through its chronology, introductory essay, appendixes, map, bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions and significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects, provides an important reference on this African country.
Call Number: DT3037 .G76 2008ISBN: 9780810853058Publication Date: 2008
New Encyclopedia of Africa by
This substantial expansion and reworking of the classic Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara (1997) covers the entire continent, from the Europe-facing shores of the Mediterranean to the commercial bustle of Cape Town. The set addresses the entire history of African cultures from the pharaohs and the ancient civilizations of the south through the colonial era to the emergence of 53 independent countries, some of them, like Nigeria, newly emergent in world commerce and others deep in conflict (Sudan, Liberia, Congo). The NEA treats todays African peoples not as the obscure other of a Dark Continent| but as actors on a world stage where issues of global development, the AIDS crisis, and international terrorism play out across a map of indigenous cultures functioning beneath an imperfect European overlay of |national states.| Articles in anthropology, geography, history, and cultural studies by an international team of more than 600 distinguished Africanists (including over 150 from Africa and the African Diaspora) present Africa - as seen by Africans themselves. Features hundreds of photographs, including five color inserts, plus maps, thematic outline, chronology, and appendix of ethnic and identity groups.
Call Number: DT2 .N48 2008 and onlineISBN: 9780684314549Publication Date: 2008
