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African History

Primary Resources for African History

Primary Sources in Library Catalogs

Primary sources of all types can also be found in our regular, circulating books, in special collections, and beyond.  Here are few ways to find primary texts and sources by using our own Library Search.
 
1. Use the author search  to find books we have by a particular author, politician, journalist or another type of historical witness
 
2.  Do an advanced keyword search in The Library Search and then limit by publication year under “limit your search”) (note:  you can also limit by language and many other ways)
 
3. . Do an advanced keyword in Library Search and then limit to the word  "sources" in the subject field (by using the dropdown menu), for example:
  • "africa and women" in the keyword field
"sources" in the subject field. 
 
(this brings us the Library of Congress Subject subheading “sources” which is sometimes used to designate primary source collections of different kinds — as in
Women—Africa--21st century -Social conditions--Sources

Special Collections

Room with shelves of books and wood table.Special Collections is the Library’s principal repository for print and manuscript primary sources. The collections number nearly 200,000 volumes and more than 11,000 linear feet of a diverse array of literary and historical manuscripts, personal papers, and college archives that span more than 900 years of human history. The collections are available for research, teaching, and study in person, and, increasingly, digitally in the Claremont Colleges Digital Library.

  1. Explore collections on the Special Collections website.
  2. Request materials using your Special Collections Account.
  3. Make an appointment to view your requested materials.

Visit the Special Collections Access Guide for help discovering and requesting Special Collections materials and contact Special Collections with questions.