User's Guide & Site Help

4. The Basics

4.1. Structure

A. Site Header

The site header never changes.

The links in the top right corner provide access to information about the site.

You can always click on the Oxford African American Studies Center logo to return to the home page.

B. Site Navigation Bar

Once you are logged in, the site navigation bar never changes.

The site navigation bar gives you various options for discovering the site's content. When you roll over Search, Browse, Timelines, or Learning Center, more specific options will appear.

To start your exploration of the site, use the options in the site navigation bar or enter a word or phrase into the search box and click "Search." Once you are logged in, the Search box will be available from all pages of the site.

C. Tool Bar

The tool bar changes based on your location in the site. In general, it provides easy, consistent access to tools that apply specifically to the content on your page. Look here to navigate through your search results, or to print or email your current page. Other, more page-specific functionality in the tool bar will be discussed in the appropriate sections below.

4.2. Icons

Roll your mouse over the blue question mark for a pop-up description of the text preceding it.

The camera indicates an article that contains an image.

Click on the plus sign to expand a contracted list.

Click this icon to find a bibliography entry in your local library's resources.

4.3. Site Content

The site consists of a variety of content types from a number of different sources. The content types are: biographies, subject entries, primary source documents, images, maps, and charts & tables. These content categories are displayed in search results and many can be searched on a dedicated Search Form (see below). For more information on each content type, refer to What's Inside.

Among the sources that the site draws its content are: Africana, the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895, Black Women in America, Second Edition, and the African American National Biography. For more information on these and the other sources for site content, read About AASC.