By Eileen Saam, Children’s Librarian
As the school year starts and school projects are assigned, know that the library is here to help! In addition to books, your Oak Park library card gives you access to a number of subscription-based resources that you can use to help you with your research.
In my previous posts in this series, I highlighted CultureGrams, National Geographic Kids, AtoZ Maps Online, and AtoZ World Culture. You’ll find these subscription-based resources, plus many more, on the Research and Learn page on the library’s website.
Today I will share two websites that are wonderful resources for research for school projects and for curious minds: African-American History and American Indian History.
African-American History
This comprehensive library research site covers more than 500 years of the African American experience. It offers a variety of ways to explore African American history and culture—from videos and slideshows providing fascinating visual introductions on key topics to chapters from authoritative print titles allowing for in-depth study.
You can read biographies of key people, examine famous speeches and other primary sources, view historical images and photographs, and gain context from in-depth timelines and original maps and charts.
African American History allows you to:
- Browse by subject such as the Underground Railroad, Great Black Migrations, and Harlem Renaissance.
- Browse by era such as Africa, Colonization, and the Slave Trade Beginnings – 1819 and Civil Rights Protest and Progress 1955-1971.
- Use the search bar if you know what you want to research.
- Search the A to Z topics all indexed by time period and subject for quick access.
African American History is an impressive resource with a wealth of information. To learn more about the African American experience, you will definitely want to explore this website, even if you don’t have a school project you need to complete!
To learn more about this comprehensive resource, watch this overview video »
American Indian History
This library research site offers access to more than 15,000 years of history and culture of Indigenous Peoples in this nation, covering more than 600 Native American groups.
Students can view numerous videos, slideshows, and images; read biographies from key figures; examine different perspectives from book chapters, articles, and primary sources; and gain a comprehensive view through timelines, original maps, and graphs.
For your research, you can use the American Indian History site to:
- Browse by culture area such as the Arctic, Great Basin, and Northwest Coast.
- Browse by subject such as American Indian Contributions to the World and U.S. Indian Policy and Law.
- Browse by Era, such as Removal and Resistance 1830-1865 and Self Determination and the Red Power Movement 1969-1979.
- Use the search bar if you know what you want to research.
- Search the A to Z topics, which are indexed by time period and subject for quick access.
American Indian History Online has a user-friendly interface offering an interactive, multifaceted view of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. For your research you can set preferences for languages; take advantage of read-aloud tools, search assist technology, dynamic citations, live help chat, and how-to tips; and save content directly to Google Drive.
Whether you are researching for a school project or for your own interest, I think you will be very impressed with the volume and quality of information that you can access on this site, covering over 15,000 years of history and culture of Indigenous peoples in this nation.
To learn more about this comprehensive resource, watch this overview video »
More library resources for kids
About Eileen
Eileen Saam is a children’s digital learning librarian who loves discovering new things, learning from others, and sharing with children the joy and wonder of books. One of her favorite things to do at the library is to help children, families, and teachers find books and digital resources that delight and inspire them.
