African American Historical Serials Collections

African American Historical Serials Collection is an EBSCO database. It contains materials on African American culture and religious life published from 1829 to 1922. These materials include reports, annuals, and periodicals from African American social service agencies and religious organizations, most of which were formerly fragmentary, widely dispersed, and endangered publications. This collection contains more than 170 unique titles. It was developed in conjunction with the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). Its Basic and Advanced searches are easily understandable, and generally produce useful results. These results can be displayed, navigated, cited, printed, saved, and/or forwarded without difficulty. Multiple forms of authentication are available to subscribers, including IP authentication and user name/password. Remote access and open URL access are available with this database, and its technical requirements are not unusual. Its licensing agreement doesn’t include the length of the subscription, its price, or the conditions under which the subscriber can terminate it, but aside from these concerns it is fairly standard in its composition.

The price of this database is potentially quite variable and depends on a number of factors, including (but not limited to) FTE. Because EBSCO doesn’t provide specific pricing for this database, potential subscribers are encouraged to contact them for a price tailored to their particular circumstances. Despite this vague and potentially complex pricing structure, this database may be worth having by an institution that has a demonstrable need for African American historical materials and primary sources (and assuming that institution can negotiate a price that’s acceptable to it).