DOCUMENT RESUME ttl 089 698 IR 000 410 AUTHOR Witherell, Julian W. TITLE Africana Acquisitions; Report of a Publication Survey Trip to Nigeria, Southern Africa, and Europe, 1972. INSTITUTION Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. General Reference and Bibliography Div. PUB DATE 73 NOTE 126p. EDRS PRICE MP-$0.75 HC-$6.60 PLUS'POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS Developed Nations; Developing Nations; Government Publications; Information Dissemination; *Library Acquisition; Library Materials; *National Libraries; *Publications; Publishing Industry IDENTIFIERS Africa; Europe; *Library of Congress; Nigeria; South Africa ABSTRACT A publication survey trip to Nigeria, Southern Africa, and Europe was taken by Julian W. Witherell of the African Section of the Library of Congress in 1972. The purpose of the trip was to improve the flow of publications about Africa to the Library of Congress. The trip was successful in that personal contacts helpful in obtaining local materials were strengthened and the interest in exchanging publications was stimulated. However, the author concludes that the success of the Nairobi acquisitions office indicates'that the most effective method of acquisitions of African material 'would be the establishment of additional.acquisitions offices in Africa. Descriptions of the publishing situation in Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozamtique, Angloa, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Sweden, the German Federal Republic and Great Britain are presented. AJG) 0/h 000 a---r: Africana Acqutsittons Report of a Publication Survey Tripto Nigeria, Southern Africa, and Europe,1972 by Julian W. Witherell African Section General Reference and Bibliography Division Reference Department Library of CongressWashington.1973 U S DEPARTMENT Of HEALTH, EDUCATION IWELEARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE of EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR OR,ANIZATION ORIGIN ATING It POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REFER SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Witherell, Julian W Africana acquisitions. Includes bibliographical references. I. Acquisition of African publications. 2. Library resources on AfricaEurope.1.UnitedStates. Library of Congress. African Section.II. Title. 2689.W75 016.916'007 73-9620 ISBN 0-8444-0095-5 Table of Contents 1 Introduction 65SWAZILAND 3 NIGERIA 69 MOZAMBIQUE 3 Western State 74ANGOLA 8 Lagos State 79SPAIN 14 Mid11restern State 16 East-Central State 80ITALY .18 Rivers State 82HUNGARY 20 SouthEastern State 83CZECHOSLOVAKIA 21 North-Central State 24 Kano State 85POLAND 27SOUTH AFRICA 87SWEDEN 27 Transvaal 89GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC' 41 Orange Free State 94GREAT BRITAIN 43 Cape r f Good Hope 99 51 Transkei Conclusion 52 Natal 101 Addresses o/ Organizations Cited in 57BOTSWANA this Report 61 LESOTHO 118Subject Index Introduction This report presents the main findings of a publication survey trip for the Library of Congress to Nigeria, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, An- gola, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Sweden, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Great Britain in JanuaryJune 1972. None of the seven African coun- tries on the itinerary had been surveyed by a member of the African Section since 1966, when Mrs. Sharon B. Lockwood visited Nigeria, Botswana( then Bechuanaland), Lesotho ( then Basutoland), Mozambique, and Angola. South Africa was last visited in 1961, by Dr. Conrad C. Reining, and Swltiland had not been covered on past surveys. Of the eight European countries, only the Federal Republic of Germany and Great Britain had been previously surveyed, and neither of these in the past 10 years. My report deals primarily with government agencies, universities, and other research organizations issuing a considerable body of material relating to African studies and with the major libraries and archives; it does not present an exhaustive account of information obtained. I shall be glad to supply additional information if amplification is desired on any part of the report. Approximately half of my time was spent in an extensive survey of the many publishing centers, libraries, and archives of Nigeria and South Africa, In Nigeria my primary objectives were to strengthen LC's contacts with educational institutions and to improve the flow of publications of state governments to LC. In addition to Lagos, I visited Ibadan, Benin City, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Kaduna, and Kano, as well as the university centers of Ife, Nsukka, and Zaria. In South Africa I focused my attention mainly on the country's 16 universities, its provincial administrations, and organizations concerned with race relations. The European part of the trip gave me an opportunity to visit numerous African studies centers and to see the wealth of Africana available in various libraries and archives. The striking feature of this trip, in contrast to my past surveys mainly in franc°. phone Africa, was the tremendous diversity I found in the publication situations in the various African states. This was tj course expected in a trip covering countries very different in size, population, and economic development. Nevertheless, there arc certain general characteristics shared by most of them. In each state, for example, the govern- ment printer distributes the official gazette and, in most cases, other legislative docu- ments, compilations of ricVS, and some reports of government agencies. A considerable number of official documents, however, are distributed only by their own issuing agen- cies. These items are produced in limited quantities and are usually available only / on an exchange basis. To ensure our receipt of these publications, it is necessary to Introduction maintain exchange contacts with many government bureaus and research organiza- ns. Exchanges with university libraries appear to be the best means of acquiring erial issued by Universities and other academic institutes. In Nigeria and South Afr IC's blanket order arrangements with commercial bookdealers are working effect 'ely, enabling us to acquire a wide variety of material that must be purchased. Elsewhe, with the possible exception of Mozambique, thereare apparently no book- dealers pable of assisting us in obtaining local material, and we must continue to acquire c mmercial publications either by direct subscription or through U.S. diplo- matic posts. The success of the survey trip depended to a large degree on the support I received from U.S. embassies and consulates in the countr',1 visited. In every instance I had ex- cellent cooperation in scheduling appOintments, obtaining transportation, and arranging for material to be sent to LC. The USIS offices in Ibadan, Kaduna, and Kano, Nigeria, and in Maseru, Lesotho, also were of great help. During my visits to the East-Central, Rivers, and South-Eastern States of Nigeria, I had excellent cooperation from the state protocol offices and state librarians. In South Africa I received considerable assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Orange Free State Library Service in arranging my itinerary. In acknowledging the assistance I received throughout the trip, I also wish to express my deep appreciation to Mrs. Mildred G. Batima and the staff of the African Section for their excellent work in conducting the section's activi- ties during my extended absence. The report is divided into sections describing my findings in each country, with a summary following each section on an African state. A list of organizations visited in both Africa and Europe is given in an appendix, and there is an index to subjects covered in the report. The preparation of this report was completed in September 1972. 2 Nigeria Ibadan, Western State ( January 21-29) Ibadan owes its position as a major publishing center of Nigeria primarily to the large number of studies prepared by the University of Ibadan and other research institutes in the area. The city's publication output is augmented by material produced by agen- cies of the Western State government and organizations concerned with regional eco- nomic development. On the university carriphs, I had appointments at The university library, the department of library studies, the Institute of African Studies, the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, and the National Archives. The university library has the largest collection of books and periodicals in Nigeria, about 250,000 bornd volumes and 4,000 current serial titles. A new library wing houses its outstand- ing Africana collection, including a rare book section and files of Arabic manuscripts. Its Africana card catalog of some 34,000 citations was recently reproduced in book form by G. K. Hall Co. as Africana Catalogue of the Ibadan University Library. Mss. Bisi Odeinde, acting university librarian, told me that the Nigerian depository lasAuf 1970 transferred responsibility for collecting Nigeriana from Ibadan to the National Library in Lagos. The 1969 issue was the last annual volume of the Nigerian National Bibliography prepared by the university library, and subsequent compilations will be published by the National Library (see below under Lagos). At present Mrs. Odeinde's major project is preparing a basic collection for the library of the university's new campus at Jos in Benue-Plateau State. The library has a number of microfilming projects, including one to microfilm major Nigerian newspapers. Mrs. Odeinde said that it has the following