Important African American Collections Added to UAB Libraries

February 20, 2021 BP Staff
Important African American Collections Added to UAB Libraries
“Approaching learning from important historical and cultural perspectives is integral to the evolving UAB undergraduate experience,” says UAB Provost Pam Benoit.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Libraries have added new resource collections focused on African American studies and history.

Published: February 20, 2021

The libraries have added several seminal primary-source collections in support of African American studies, African American history, history, and interdisciplinary fields in the humanities and social sciences to their collections.

“I am particularly thrilled to make this announcement in February as we celebrate and honor Black History Month,” says Kasia Gonnerman, UAB Libraries dean. “I’ve already received a number of enthusiastic responses from several UAB faculty, who look forward to incorporating these new resources into their teaching and research.”

The new acquisitions, which can be accessed from the library databases, comprise three sub-collections — Black Studies Center, Black Abolitionists Papers, and ProQuest Civil Rights Era — as well as 14 historical newspapers, including The Chicago Defender (1912-1975), The New York Times (1851-2017), The Baltimore Afro-American‎ (1893-1988), Philadelphia Tribune‎ (1912-2001) and Pittsburgh Courier‎ (1911-2002).

UAB is currently evaluating and refining courses as part of implementing its Signature Core Curriculum, which will officially replace the existing core beginning in 2022. It is anticipated that many of the newly acquired collections will become applicable in the implementation of the new curriculum, as a key component is integrating classroom learning with local and world events.

“Approaching learning from important historical and cultural perspectives is integral to the evolving UAB undergraduate experience,” says UAB Provost Pam Benoit. “Access to the new materials that provide a deeper understanding of Black history and its central place in the Birmingham community is a tremendous asset to our faculty and students.”

UAB librarians are available to work with faculty and students using these new collections, and the UAB Libraries are planning to launch an undergraduate research award for the three most notable academic research papers or projects demonstrating the use of the new resources.

For more information on the UAB Libraries and their resources, visit http://www.library.uab.edu.