To Find Books
Use the MERLIN Library Catalog and the MOBIUS Union Catalog to find resources relevant to your research. Relevant works can be found using subject headings (Library of Congress) such as:
- Harlem Renaissance
- Harlem (New York, N.Y.)
- Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--History
- Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Intellectual life
- Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Intellectual life--20th century
- Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Social conditions
- Harlem (New York, N.Y.)--Social life and customs
- African Americans-- New York (State)--New York--Intellectual life
- African American art--New York (State)--New York
- African American arts--New York (State)--New York
- Jazz--New York (State)--New York--History and criticism
- Savoy Ballroom (New York, N.Y.)--History
Critical and biographical works on individual authors, artists, and musicians affiliated with the Harlem Renaissance can be found using subject headings (Library of Congress) such as:
- Du Bois, W.E.B.(William Edward Burghardt)
- Cullen, Countee
- Hughes, Langston
- Hurston, Zora Neale
- Johnson, Georgia Douglas Camp
- Johnson, James Weldon
- Locke, Alain LeRoy
- McKay, Claude
- Robeson, Paul
- Schomburg, Arthur Alfonso
- Toomer, Jean
- Torrence, Ridgely
- Woodson, Carter Godwin
Published correspondences and letters by individuals affiliated with the Harlem Renaissance can be found using subject headings (Library of Congress) such as:
Critical works that examine the relations between the Harlem Renaissance and other intellectual and aesthetics movements; and critical works that examine the relations between the Harlem Renaissance and early 20th century social and political milieu can be found using subject headings (Library of Congress) such as:
- Aesthetics, Black
- African American aesthetics
- African Americans--Intellectual life--20th century
- Blacks--Intellectual life
- American literature-- African American authors--History and criticism
- English literature--Black authors--History and criticism
- French literature--Black authors--History and criticism
- Literature, Modern--Black authors
- Negritude (Literary Movement)
- American literature--20th century--History and criticism
- Art, modern--20th century--New York (State)--New York
- Jazz--1921-1930--History and criticism
- Jazz--1931-1940--History and criticism
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
- National Urban League
- Masses (New York, N.Y.)
- Socialism--United States--History
- African Americans--Civil rights --United States--History--20th century
- United States--Race relations-- Political aspects-- History--20th century
Finally, primary works relevant to the Harlem Renaissance (original writings by Harlem Renaissance intellectuals and authors that subsequent students, critics, and scholars interpret) can be found by performing an author search for an individual author, or by performing a title search for a specific work. Notable primary works relevant to the Harlem Renaissance collected by Miller Nichols Library include:
- The Fire in the Flint. By Walter Francis White
- The Harlem Renaissance, 1920-1940. 7 volume series edited by Cary D. Wintz. Reprints of primary works.
- Home to Harlem. By Claude McKay
- Hunger and Terror in Harlem: The Causes and Remedies for the March 19th Outbreak in Harlem. Testimony of James W. Ford, secretary of the Harlem section of the Communist Party. Prepared for the mayor's commission on conditions in Harlem, April 1, 1935
- The Weary Blues. By Langston Hughes
To find the location of a book in Miller Nichols Library, see the Location Guide.
To Find Articles
Remote (off-campus) access to databases is available only to UMKC students, faculty, and staff. All other users must access online resources within the Libraries. Begin searching by selecting a database. After selection you will be prompted to provide a UMKC Single Sign-On user name and password OR a 9-digit UMKC ID number followed by the letter k (example: 0123456789k) and last name, as needed.
Databases and Electronic Article Indexes
- JSTOR 1838 - present.
Save to del.icio.us
Full text. Coverage varies by title.
New Additional journals are now available with the addition of these collections: A&S Complement, A&S V, and Business II. -
MLA Directory of Periodicals (Chadwyck-Healey). Current edition. Save to del.icio.us
- MLA International Bibliography (Chadwyck-Healey) 1884 - present. Save to del.icio.us
- Project MUSE (Premium Collection) Save to del.icio.us
Full text 1993 - present.
New Additional journals are now available with the upgrade to Project MUSE Premium Collection.
Articles and Indexes in Print, Microfiche, and CD-ROM formats (within library use only)
- Analytical Guide and Indexes to The Crisis, 1910-1960. 3 vols. (Ref E185.5.C923 R67 1975).
- The Crisis. On microfiche.
- Fire!! Print format.
- The New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Black Studies on Disc. 1600s - present. Accessible only from the computers in the Information Commons on the First Floor of the Miller Nichols Library. Ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.
- Opportunity. Print format.
University Libraries Photocopying and Printing Services
Reference Sources: Encyclopedias, Handbooks, Directories, Statistics, Bibliographies
Reference sources are useful for locating background information, definitions, general descriptions, and basic facts. Use these books to help you select or focus your research topic.
All call numbers in this guide refer to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library, unless otherwise noted. Titles are linked to the corresponding MERLIN Library Catalog record.
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
| African American Writers. Dictionary, 2 vols. | Ref PS153.N5 A344 2001 |
| Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940. Dictionary of Literary Biography series, v.51. Dictionary. | Ready Ref PN451.D43 v.51 |
| Dictionary of Black Culture. Dictionary. | Ref E185.96 .B33 |
| Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History. Encyclopedia, 5 vols. | Ref E185 .E54 1996 |
| Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance. Encyclopedia, 2 vols. | Ref NX512.3.A35 E53 2004 |
| The Handbook of African American Literature. Encyclopedia. | Ref PS153.N5 E78 2004 |
| The Harlem Renaissance: A Historical Dictionary for the Era. Dictionary. | Ref NX511.N4 H37 1984 |
| Masterpieces of African-American Literature. Dictionary. | Ref PS153.N5 M264 1992 |
| The Oxford Companion to African American Literature. Encyclopedia | Ref PS153.N5 O96 1997 |
Handbooks
| The Chronology of African American History: From 1942 to the Present | Ref E185.H64 1997 |
| The Harlem Renaissance: A Gale Critical Companion. 3 vols. | Ref PS153.N5 H245 2003 |
| The New York Public Library African American Desk Reference | Ref E185.N49 1999 |
Directories
Statistics
| Historical Statistics of Black America. 2 vols. | Ref E185.H543 1995 |
| United States Bureau of the Census, Negroes in the United States, 1920-1932. | Ref E185.6.U5853 |
Bibliographies
| "Bibliographies of Microforms Relating to African-Americans," Microform Review 23 (Spring 1994): 64-76. | MNL 2nd Floor Periodical |
| Black American Writers, 1773-1949: A Bibliography and Union List | Z1361.N39 M35 |
| Black Artists in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography of Books, Articles, and Dissertations on Black Artists, 1779-1979 | Ref Z5956.A47 D38 |
| A Commented Bibliography of One Hundred and One Influential Books By and About People of African Descent (1556-1982): A Collector's Choice | Ref E185.B5 C6 1989 |
| The Harlem Renaissance: An Annotated Bibliography and Commentary | Ref. Z5956.A47 P47 1982 |
| Harlem in Review: Critical Reactions to Black American Writers, 1917-1939 | Ref. PS153.N5 B37 1992 |
| The New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Bibliographic Guide to Black Studies. Miller Nichols Library has 1975, 1977, 1982, 1990, and 1991 editions of this bibliography/dictionary catalog. | Ref Z1361.N39 S373a |
Web Resources
- Drop Me Off in Harlem: Exploring the Intersections. A Project by the Education Department of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
(artsedge.kennedy-center.org/exploring/harlem/artsedge.html) - Harlem, 1900-1940: An African American Community. An Exhibition Portfolio from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
(www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/index.html) - Harlem: Mecca of the New Negro. A Hypermedia Edition of the March 1925 Survey Graphic Harlem Number, at the University of Virginia's Electronic Text Center
(etext.lib.virginia.edu/harlem/) - Howard University Library's Guide to African American Literature
(www.howard.edu/library/Assist/Guides/Literature/AfroAmLit.htm) - Howard University Library's Subject Guides Index, entry for "Biography." See entry, "Biography," for biographical subject guides for W.E.B. DuBois, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Alain Locke
(www.howard.edu/library/Assist/Guides/Index.htm) - Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
(www.nypl.org/research/sc/sc.html)
Use search engines linked on the Internet Search Tools page to identify additional Web resources.
Videotapes and DVDs
All call numbers in this guide refer to the UMKC Miller Nichols Library, unless otherwise noted.
- Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance (Media AV VHS - NX511.N4 A53 1993)
- The Cotton Club (Media AV DVD - PN1995.9.M86 C68 2001)
- Hughes' Dream Harlem (Media AV VHS - PS3515.U274 Z656 2002)
- Jazz: Episode Two, The Gift (Music A/V - DV 2001:38)
- Jazz: Episode Three, Our Language (Music A/V - DV 2001:39)
- The Weary Blues and Other Poems Read by Langston Hughes (Marr MGM Records: E3697)
For further assistance, please contact the
Miller Nichols Library Reference Desk at (816) 235-1534.
