Skip to Main Content

AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE ARTS: Finding Books on a Topic

In 2024, the theme for African American History Month is African Americans and the Arts. Each year the theme is set by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Where is That Book?


Ever wonder how books are shelved?

In this library we use The Library of Congress Classification System to organize books on the shelves. The LC SYSTEM organizes material in libraries according to twenty-one branches of knowledge called classes. The system uses letters to represent the twenty-one broad branches of knowledge. The letters I, O, W, X AND Y are not used.

 The twenty-one classes are:

A – GENERAL WORKS

B – PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY, RELIGION

C – AUXILIARY SCIENCES OF HISTORY

D – HISTORY: GENERAL & OUTSIDE THE AMERICAS

E – HISTORY: UNITED STATES

F – HISTORY: UNITED STATES LOCAL & AMERICAS

G – GEOGRAPHY, ANTHROPOLOGY, RECREATION

H – SOCIAL SCIENCE

J – POLITICAL SCIENCE

K – LAW

L – EDUCATION

M – MUSIC & BOOKS ON MUSIC

N – FINE ARTS

P – LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

Q – SCIENCE

R – MEDICINE

S – AGRICULTURE

T – TECHNOLOGY

U – MILITARY SCIENCE

V – NAVAL SCIENCE

Z – BIBLIOGRAPHY, LIBRARY SCIENCE & INFORMATION RESOURCES

These twenty-one broad subject areas are further divided into more specific subject areas by adding one or two additional letters as well as some numbers. For a more detailed breakdown of any subject, go to the Library of Congress web page. 

So, How Do I Find a Book on the Shelf?

Try this exercise, which was put together by the librarians at Kent State University, to see if you have figured out the Library of Congress system!

Finding Books on a Topic

Finding Books on Your Topic  walking book

Once you have chosen a topic and done your background research you will be ready to conduct more comprehensive research using books.

Use the Library Catalog to find books available in the Cerritos College Library. Books can provide a broad overview of a topic or in-depth information. You can search for books by author, title, subject, or keyword. 

Use these Subject Headings to start a Cerritos Catalog Book search under that Subject Heading.

African American art 

African American art -- Exhibitions.

African American artists

African American arts 

African American dance

African American painting  

African American photographers 

African American theatre

African American women artists  

African Americans -- music

African Americans in art -- Exhibitions.

African Americans in the performing arts

Afrofuturism

American Literature -- African American authors

Art and race

Black Arts Movement

Harlem Renaissance

Hip-hop

Rap (Music)

Women, Black, in art.

Women, Black, in art -- Exhibitions.

 

 

 

Finding Electronic Books

Have you tried Electronic Books for your research? image of books

Electronic Books or eBooks are simply the digital versions of published print materials. They are available and searchable 24 hours a days, seven days a week. Most of the eBooks owned by the library can be found on our Library catalog. You can also browse or search one of the many Cerritos College Libary eBook collections listed below to access a wide range of research, reference, and reading materials.

  • Most eBooks require login for off-campus use. 
  • Enter your Cerritos College login when prompted. 
  • For more login information see the Database Login page.
image of clipboard

To search for specific eBooks in the library collection: Use the Library Catalog  to search by subject, keyword, author, or title. Watch this video to learn how to limit your catalog search to eBooks.

To download EBSCO eBooks view these instructions: Document or Slideshow

Below you will find a list of the library's eBook Collections and the type of sources they contain.

Cerritos College Library | 11110 Alondra Blvd., Norwalk, CA 90650 | 562-860-2451 | Reference ext 2425 | Circulation ext 2424