African American Archives and Libraries

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Most archives and libraries collect records about local residents (biographies, family histories, and local histories) and about nearby places (maps, gazetteers, and place-finding aids). They often compile reference helps and special indexes to important local sources. In many communities they serve as a meeting place for local historical and genealogical societies, and may be able to provide referrals to people who are willing to look up information in local records. Before you visit an archive or a library, contact them and ask for information on their collection, hours, services, and fees.

When one of these institutions is referred to elsewhere in this outline, return to this section for the address.

The Family History Library has copies of many of the records found in archives and libraries, but most repositories will have additional sources.

Many archives and libraries have helpful sources for locating information about Alabama, such as maps, gazetteers, and other place-finding aids. They frequently have collections of previous research, such as family and local histories and biographies. Many have record-finding aids, such as guides to their own collections or inventories of records housed elsewhere in the state. Archives and libraries near state boundaries usually collect records relating to the adjacent states.

The following archives, libraries, and societies have collections or services helpful to African American genealogical researchers:

Family History Library 35 North West Temple Street Room 344 Salt Lake City, UT 84150-3400 [Note: Room 344 is a mail room only, not a room patrons can visit.] Local Telephone: 801-240-2331 Toll Free: 1-800-346-6044 (Inside United States and Canada) Toll Free: 1-801-240-1000 (Outside United States and Canada) Internet: http://www.familysearch.org

National Archives 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20408 Telephone: 202-501-5415 Fax: 301-837-0459 Internet: http://www.archives.gov

National Archives - Regional Branches Internet: http://www.archives.gov/facilities/index.html

The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum 1901 Fort Place SE Washington, D.C. 20020 Telephone: 202-633-4820 Internet: http://anacostia.si.edu/

Godfrey Memorial Library Kalamazoo College Africo-American Black History Museum 1200 Academy Street Kalamazoo, Michigan 49006 Telephone: 269-337-7000 Internet: http://www.kzoo.edu/africa/links.htm The University of Pittsburgh Hillman Library 3960 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 Telephone: 412-648-7756 Internet: http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/hillman/hillman.html

The University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center 647 Williams Hall 255 S 36th Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6305 Telephone: 215-898-6971 Fax: 215-573-7379 Email: [mailto:africa@sas.upenn.edu africa@sas.upenn.edu] Internet: http://www.africa.upenn.edu/AS.html

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute 520 Sixteenth Street North Birmingham, Alabama 35203 Telephone: 205-328-9696 Toll Free: 1-866-328-9696 Fax: 205-251-6104 Internet: http://www.bcri.org/index.html

The Black Archives of Mid-America 2033 Vine Street Kansas City, Missouri 64108-3007 Telephone: 816-701-3590 Email: [mailto:info@blackarchives.org info@blackarchives.org] Internet: http://www.blackarchives.org/Internet: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html

Duke Univeristy John Hope Franklin Collection for African and African-American Documentation Durham, North Carolina 27708 Telephone 919-684-8111 Internet: http://library.duke.edu/specialcollections/franklin/ Internet: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html

The Library of Congress The African-American Mosaic: A Library of Congress Resource Guide for the Study of Black History and Culture 101 Independence Avenue SE Washington, D.C. 20540 Telephone: 202-707-5000 Internet: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/intro.html

The following resources can be helpful as you begin your research:

Black Roots: A Beginner's Guide to Tracing the African American Family Tree, Tony Burroughs, 1001. (FHL book 973 D27bt.)

Finding a Place Called Home: An African-American Guide to Genealogy and Historical Identity, Dee Parmer Woodtor, 1999. (FHL book 973 F2wd.)

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