The Department of Special Collections holds a rich and growing collection of diverse materials that document and depict African American history and culture. This guide presents selected works, including collections of personal papers, photographs, manuscript drafts, rare books and many other materials that can be found in Special Collections. A selected list of electronic resources providing access to unique materials related to African American Studies is also included.

With many thanks to Elizabeth Ryan, Library Conservator, for conceiving and building this guide, and to colleagues Felicia Smith, Rebecca Wingfield, Franz Kunst, Josh Schneider, Ann Myers, Mario Pamplona, and Ray Heigemeir for their input!

This guide includes information about resources available in the Stanford Archives to support research into the history of Black students at Stanford University. Despite being a historically white institution, Stanford has a rich history of Black student life. However, prior to the mid-1960’s, Stanford admitted few Black students, and offered limited support to those who were admitted. Users will find few records of Black students in the Archives dating before the mid-1960's. The change in admissions and support came about through direct action of Black students and other students of color.

This course guide will assist students who are tasked with identifying an archive to use as source material for filmmaking and/or photography projects. The archival sources highlight cultural groups and family archives of People of Color.

This Nerd Squirrel video will define primary sources, and explain how to identify, locate, and request them from the Stanford Libraries.

The links below will take you to SearchWorks records for archival collections located in the Green Library Special Collections. See individual records for finding aids and access policies. This is not an exhaustive list of collections and materials that are available from the University Archives. Please get in touch directly with them if you have questions about any materials listed or not listed here.

This guide provides general tips on using SearchWorks and the articles+ search feature to find materials in the Stanford Libraries catalog and across a wide range of subscribed databases.

Stanford's Hume Center provides assistance with citations. This website discusses documentation and citations which serve as a connection between a writer and readers in particular contexts. This website links to Purdue University's OWL or "Online Writing Lab" which is a one-stop resource for citation and documentation help across the disciplines.

This guide will detail how to cite archival material located in the California State University Archives for MLA, APA, and Chicago citation styles.

Purdue University's Online Writing Lab has a useful guide for citations. Citation is one important challenge you will face when working with archives. Because archivists strive to preserve the unique order of collections when they are donated, universal guidelines for citing archival sources have not been established. This website has a lot of ads.