Collecting for African Studies has advanced considerably since the development of the scholarly field in the 1950s. Many established vendors now supply books, serials, and newspapers published in Africa (or relating to Africa from other countries). The African Books Collective represents more than 120 independent African publishers from 21 countries, distributing African-published works to North America and worldwide. The Library of Congress field offices based in Nairobi and Cairo cover more than 35 African countries through the LC’s cooperative acquisition programs.
Cooperation among Africana librarians in North America remains the rule rather than the exception. The Africana Librarians Council (est. 1958) fosters communication and information sharing among libraries and individuals. The Cooperative Africana Materials Project (CAMP) (1963) promotes collaborative approaches to collection, preservation, and access to rare, expensive, or fragile primary and secondary source material from Africa.
Technical infrastructure and capacity in Africa continue to improve over time, but the majority of publications from Africa remain “offline.” Digitization projects in North America, Europe, and Africa are emerging to provide access to books, serials, dissertations, multimedia, and archival collections. Challenges to efficient collection of materials from Africa remain daunting. International collaboration and partnerships with institutions in Africa are key for improving access to resources and ensuring sustainability.
Current research trends in Africa reflect the changing nature of international and Area Studies. In addition to the historically strong focus on anthropology, economics, history, and political science, new scholarly work is being produced in the fields of agriculture, education, environmentalism, health and medicine, law, conflict and human rights, and the natural sciences.