This third edition of the Reference Guide to Africa explains the most important resources for the study of the continent of Africa. It contains a general sources section and a larger disciplinary oriented section. All sources are annotated. A new edition is sorely needed since the last edition was published nine years ago. The previous editions have been successfully used in research libraries worldwide since 1999, and it has been used to teach several African studies research courses.
The book provides an orientation for researching almost any topic in the arts, humanities and social sciences concerning the continent of Africa, and all of its countries and ethnic groups. The first part explains and lists portals, databases, bibliographies, indexes, guides, encyclopedias, country sources, biography, primary sources, government publications, and statistics. The second part presents 16 subject-oriented chapters, mostly in the arts, humanities and social sciences, from agriculture and food security to women studies. It covers sources that broadly cover the continent, or in some cases only North Africa (and the Middle East). It generally excludes sources limited to one country or region of Africa, except for North Africa because of the nature of the literature.
One-third of the sources in this edition are new, and nearly half of them are available in electronic format. There are author/title and subject indexes.
This unique work is intended for students, teachers, librarians, and researchers. It likely will be used most by reference librarians and teachers for students in high school through graduate studies. It will also be used independently by undergraduate and graduate students. It can be used to answer simple reference questions, provide the resources for an undergraduate paper, or for comprehensive work by advanced students and researchers.
Alfred Kagan is Professor of Library Administration and African Studies Bibliographer Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to the first two editions of this book, he has published numerous African studies bibliographies and articles. Until his recent retirement, he was active in the Africana Librarians Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) and the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars (ACAS). He has also done extensive work in the American Library Association (ALA) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). Professor Kagan has taught an annual graduate course on the bibliography of Africa. His current research interest is the social responsibility of the library profession.
Atoma Batoma is Associate Professor of Library Administration and African Studies Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Prior to becoming a bibliographer, Professor Batoma worked for several years in the Technical Services Division of the University Library as an Africana cataloger. He has also taught courses in cataloging in the School of Library and Information Sciences at UIUC, French courses in the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics at UIUC, and Philosophy at Parkland College. His research interests include ethical communication and African onomastics. He has published several articles on African names and naming practices.
