The Library of Congress >> African & Middle Eastern Reading Room


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Introduction

The Africana Collections of the Library of Congress include materials produced over the centuries by peoples living in sub-Saharan Africa and by others inspired by the continent. Encompassing the area from the Cape Verde Islands in the west to the Indian Ocean islands in the east and from the Sahel in the north to the Cape of Good Hope in the south, this geographic region of fifty countries spanning several climatic zones, whose peoples speak hundreds of languages, offers rich opportunities for diverse studies. The Library's Africana collections reflect the complexities of African societies and the efforts to understand and express this knowledge in many forms. This guide highlights some of these holdings of materials created in Africa or about it.

The Royal African
Materials in the various custodial divisions of the Library of Congress complement one another. In The Royal African (1750), purportedly the memoirs of an African man enslaved at the Annamaboe fort, the author describes the architecture of the fort and its role in local commerce and governance in the Gold Coast, West Africa.
(Rare Book and Special
Collections Division)

A detail of a manuscript map based on a survey completed in February or March 1756 by G. Justly Watson
A detail of a manuscript map based on a survey completed in February or March 1756 by G. Justly Watson shows the fort at about the same time. Both this map and the memoirs pictured opposite are invaluable resources to historians.
(Geography
and Map Division)

Those who have just begun their studies as well as experienced scholars will find in the Africana collections pertinent books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, legal documents, photographs, films, music, sound recordings, and cd-roms. The Library's collections cover all subjects except technical agriculture and clinical medicine. These materials are stored in the General Collections and in the Library's various custodial divisions as their format dictates. Reference assistance in locating and using them is available from the African Section. Established in 1960 with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the African Section is the focal point of the Library's collection development, reference, and bibliographic activities for sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to fulfilling its mandate to provide reference services for Congress, the American people, and the international community, the African Section maintains liaisons with other institutions in the United States and abroad. Each African Section professional staff member has reference and acquisitions responsibilities for a particular linguistic or geographic region and has developed expert knowledge of the collections for his or her area. In conjunction with other Library units, the section develops the collections and compiles bibliographic guides to bring Africana materials to the attention of librarians and scholars.

The African Section has prepared numerous studies for publication, ranging from general and topical guides on sub-Saharan Africa to bibliographies of official publications of a country or region, some of which are cited in "Selected Library of Congress Publications on Africa." The purpose of each is to open up the collections, to make them more accessible, and to increase the number of people who may benefit from exploring these Africana treasures.

Joanne M. Zellers
Area Specialist for Africa, African Section

  HOME  Foreword  Introduction   Overview  Creative Expression, Culture, and Society  African Peoples' Encounters with Others  Contemporary African States  Note to Researchers  List of Sub-Saharan Countries  Publications  Writings


The Library of Congress >> African & Middle Eastern Reading Room
( November 15, 2010 )
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