INFOhio's Core Collection of  Electronic Resources contains a wealth of both current and historical information on African American Studies and Black History.

NewsBank Newspapers – Celebrating Martin Luther King and Black History is the title of the Special Report created by NewsBank. This site contains both current and historical information organized into several study areas including the civil rights movement, Key Figures and Leaders, Culture, etc. Photos of King and other noted people and events in Black History are included, as are links to related Web sites. Suggested search terms to help locate additional information in NewsBank Newspapers are listed to encourage further research. All articles are easily accessed and can be printed or e-mailed from within the site.

Annals of American History – This new INFOhio resource contains “primary source” documents searchable by author, topic or keyword. The topic Discrimination and Diversity includes chronologically-arranged print sources from before the United States became a nation until 1970. Click on the Show Only pull-down menu to select Multimedia. This area contains photos, paintings and, near the bottom, video clips. In addition to African Americans, this topic also includes Women, American Indians and other diverse populations in the United States.

Britannica Online School Edition – BOSE has several resources for the study of Black History Month:

Britannica Spotlight located on the right frame, includes the Encyclopaedia Britannica Guide to Black History. As described on their Web site, “Britannica examines five centuries of Black American heritage, from early slave revolts through the civil rights movement. Learn about the triumphs of African-American history through a detailed timeline, or pinpoint famous people and events through an exhaustive list of articles A to Z. There are also sound and video recordings of such figures as Billie Holiday, Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, and Jesse Owens."

Learning Materials – Social Studies contains Encyclopedia Activities on Black American Studies for both lower and higher grades.

Encyclopedia Search on specific individuals or subjects in Black History will result in articles within the three levels of encyclopedias, periodicals, suggested Web links, and in many cases, video clips.

SIRS Discoverer – SIRS Spotlight of the Month for February 2004 is on Black History Month. Simply click on the Spotlight of the Month icon near the bottom of the main screen, then scroll down to the Spotlight Index & Archive for February: Black History Month. There are many items posted, including biographies of famous African-Americans and articles at all levels of difficulty, including ready-made quizzes on the contents of the articles. Articles with activities are marked with the letter "a" to the right of the title, biographies with the letter “p” and fiction with the letter “f." Additional articles are added daily.

Other Core Collection resources that contain articles useful in the study of African American History and Black Americans include:

• EBSCOhost – Articles from more than 6,000 magazines and newspapers are indexed, most in full text, from children's magazines to professional research.
• American National Biography - More than 18,000 articles about famous Americans no longer living. Many articles include helpful Web links. Searches can even be limited to the “Black History Special Collection.”

Sheila Benedum
Librarian, Bay High School
Electronic Resources Spotlight Coordinator

Suggestions
INFOhio participants and visitors to this site are encouraged to submit suggestions to INFOhio about our Electronic Resources and ER Spotlights.