Other useful libraries & archives for African Studies
(Follow the links below to see the libraries arranged by their location in different parts of the world):
There is also the SCOLMA directory of libraries and special collections on Africa in the United Kingdom and in Europe, (comp. & ed.) Tom French. 5th rev.ed. London: Hans Zell, 1993.
SCOLMA Acquisitions Specialization Scheme
A co-operative scheme whereby certain member libraries of SCOLMA have assumed responsibility for acquiring publications on and from a particular African country or group of countries or in a particular subject field.
http://www.lse.ac.uk/library/scolma/events.htm#specialization
Libraries with collections on Africa
The Africa Desk
This site contains information on specialist Africanist libraries within the UK and Europe together with information on African studies centres in the UK and directories of African and UK scholars.
Afrika Studiecentrum
Leiden, Netherlands Excellent collections on the whole of Africa, concentrating on the humanities and social sciences.
Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House
Excellent research collection covering the whole of Africa but particularly emphasising South and southern Africa.
British Library Newspaper Library
The best collection of African newspapers in the UK, both current and historical.
British Library Reference Library
The UK's national library with excellent holdings of material on and from Africa, although there is no specific department responsible for collecting publications on and from Africa in a coherent way. The African vernacular language holdings are good, though not very current.
British Library of Political and Economic Science
(BLPES) at the London School of Economics Specialises in the social sciences, especially politics and economics, finance and business. Very good on African government publications, and particularly strong on South African politics and economics
Cambridge University Library
Excellent research library covering all fields. The Royal Commonwealth Society Collection is housed in the Main University Library. The African Studies Centre Library is a small but focused collection separately housed.
Institute for Advanced Legal Studies Library
University of London Research institute of the University of London with strong holdings in African law, especially for the Anglophone countries and the southern African countries using Roman-Dutch law.
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
University of London Research institute of the University of London with strong holdings in political ephemera, such as election material. Covers all Commonwealth countries but with particularly strong holdings for South and southern Africa.
Institute of Education
University of London Extensive collection of educational material at primary and secondary level relating to Africa, especially for the Anglophone countries.
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
University of London Extensive collection in the field of international public health and tropical medicine, including Africa.
University College London Library
University of London Excellent research library covering all fields. Particularly good for African studies in anthropology, sociology, development, agriculture.
University of Birmingham Information Services
The African collections support the teaching and research of the University's Centre of West African Studies, focusing mainly on Anglophone West Africa.
University of Durham Library
General coverage of Africa but particularly strong on North Africa and Islamic Africa, especially Sudan.
http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/resources/researchstrengths/mei/northafrica/
Columbia University Libraries, African Studies Internet Resources
African Digital Library
Virtual library of full-text publications which are freely accessible to users living in African countries.
African Music Archive
Centre d'etude d'afrique noire, Universite de Bordeaux III, France
Indiana University Bloomington Libraries, African Studies
Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service
Information about the Service with access to four searchable databases: Main Archives, National Documentation Archives, Journals Archives, and Audio-visual Archives. Select the databases from the pull down menu on the right of the screen.
Liberation Archive at the University of Fort Hare
Major repository for archive materials relating to the resistance movement against apartheid and the transition to democratic government in South Africa. Holdings include materials from leading political as well as organisations such as the ANC, civil rights bodies and trade unions. Contains many full-text documents.
