As we celebrate and honor Black History Month throughout February, University Libraries encourages students to utilize their available resources to learn and engage with Black history. Whether you’re an audiobook lover or prefer reading historical newspapers, USC has you covered.
Both the Thomas Cooper Library and the South Caroliniana Library are home to a database of free, accessible resources for students to utilize.
Kathy Snediker is the library’s liaison to the Department of African American Studies. She wants to encourage students to utilize the library’s free resources to explore unconventional media to learn about Black history.
“We like to expand the idea of what students might think of as resources for Black history. You know, there's fun stuff, too. It’s not just old textbooks,” Snediker says.
She recommends the comic book series Bitter Root, by Chuck Brown, David F. Walker and Sanford Greene. The series follows a Black family of monster hunters in the 1920s who fight supernatural creatures that are born from racism and hatred. The comic is available to be checked out at any of the university’s libraries.
If you are someone who prefers a more traditional learning experience, the library has resources to fit that as well.
The library’s digital collections hold thousands of archival content items from newspapers, articles, books, news clips and more that are free for students to explore. Some materials are available online only, but some books are available for checkout as well.
The university archives are home to a large collection of primary materials. Students have access to the entire archive of the NAACP papers, editions of the Chicago Defender newspaper detailing firsthand historical accounts by Black journalists throughout history and abolitionist papers. These can be accessed using the USC Libraries’ FindIt @ USC search tool.
Students are allowed to take full advantage of all resources at USC and are always welcome to consult with a librarian if they have an interest in something, says Snediker.
“A lot of undergraduates don’t know that they can look at them (archives). They can ask to look at them. It doesn’t have to be for a class; they don’t have to be doing a big research project. They’re allowed to access all of these things. And all they have to do is ask,” Snediker says.
The university's Center for Civil Rights History and Research partners with University Libraries to build collections about South Carolina’s role in civil rights. They worked with the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library in 2019 to produce Justice for All: South Carolina and the American Civil Rights Movement. While no longer physically available, the collection is available for free digitally.
Regardless of what your interest is, the University Libraries staff is here to help you and to guide you in taking advantage of their free resources. For more information about accessing or finding library resources, visit the library services page.