The new database will offer breadth of coverage and original content around a core collection of more than 30 critical review essays of the state of research and scholarship on selected themes by leading academics covering current and historical aspects of Black Studies. The scholars will also select the seminal essays and articles that one must read to ground oneself intellectually in the selected theme. Among the themes treated in this on-line collection are: African-American Religion; the slave trade and slavery; the performance arts popular culture, the visual arts; African Americans in the military, the black family, the literary tradition and blacks in science. Primary and secondary sources include fully digitized articles, book chapters, dissertations, and unpublished historical and gray literature.
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is one of the world's leading research facilities devoted to the preservation of materials on peoples of African descent throughout the world. Part of the New York Public Library, it is located in Harlem. The Center’s collections include art objects, audio and videotapes, books, manuscripts, motion pictures, newspapers, periodicals, photographs, prints, recorded music, and sheet music.
Howard Dodson, Director of the Schomburg Center and Managing Editor of the project said: “The Schomburg Center is pleased to join with ProQuest in making this decade-long dream a reality. The Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience project promises to make significant contributions to research and teaching in the field of Black Studies.”
The essays will take a multi-disciplinary approach to history, literature, religion, sociology, and more. For public libraries, the database will offer a central point of access to information on the black experience that serves a core need of minority user populations. It will help all libraries leverage existing resources through Open URL linking.
Other features include:
- Multi-thematic timelines with hyperlinks to content and images
- Glossary with both mouse-over and extended-view definitions
- Table of contents with each essay for easy browsing
- OpenURL-compliant theme bibliographies
- Multi-media library of images and video
Free trials are available. Libraries may receive more information by contacting their account representative at 1-800-521-0600, ext. 3183 or 3452 (outside the U.S., call +44-1-223-215-512) or pqsales@il.proquest.com . Editors may call 1-800-521-0600, ext. 6489 or email pr@il.proquest.com .
About The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a national research library devoted to collecting, preserving, and providing access to resources documenting the experiences of peoples of African descent throughout the world. The Center's collections first won international acclaim in 1926 when the personal collection of the distinguished Puerto Rican-born Black scholar and bibliophile, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, was added to the Division of Negro Literature, History and Prints of the 135th Street Branch of The New York Public Library. Schomburg served as Curator from 1932 until his death in 1938. Renamed in his honor in 1940, the collection grew steadily through the years. In 1972 it was designated as one of The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library and became the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Today, the Schomburg Center contains over 5,000,000 items and provides services and programs for constituents from the United States and abroad. For more information, visit http://www.nypl.org/press/schomburgbg.cfm
About ProQuest Information and Learning
ProQuest Information and Learning is a world leader in collecting, organizing, and publishing information worldwide for researchers, faculty, and students in libraries and schools. Known widely for its strength in business and economics, general reference, humanities, social sciences, and STM content, the company develops premium databases comprising periodicals, newspapers, dissertations, out-of-print books, and other scholarly information from more than 8,500 publishers worldwide. Users access the information through the ProQuest® Web-based online information system, Chadwyck-HealeyTM electronic and microform resources, UMI® microform and print reference products, eLibrary® and SIRS® educational resources, and XanEdu® online faculty and student resources. For more information about ProQuest Information and Learning, visit www.il.proquest.com.
ProQuest Information and Learning is a business unit of ProQuest Company (www.proquestcompany.com), which was recently named one of the top 100 fastest growing technology companies in the United States by Business 2.0 and one of the 200 best small companies by Forbes Magazine.
