The African Studies Companion: A Resource Guide & Directory.
By Hans M. Zell.
London; New York: H. Zell, 1989.
ISBN 0–9054–5080–9, 165 p. $47.50.
I predict that general reference librarians and Africanist librarians, students, and scholars alike will frequently consult The African Studies Companion to access an impressive array of information vital to their work. To convey so much data in a densely packed, yet handsomely presented, compact volume is something of a tour de force. I congratulate Hans Zell for accomplishing this difficult task with such skill and considerable success. He himself confessed in the Preface that “It has not been easy to pack so much information into a two hundred page book.”
This compendium would be a valuable addition to the reference collection of all academic libraries which touch in any way on Africa, and to most public libraries as well, barring perhaps the very smallest. It answers such questions as “What are essential reference works in African Studies?” Chapter I is a guide to the literature of African reference sources, noting 95 essential general references, each extensively annotated. Chapter II annotates 13 current bibliographies and continuing sources.
“What are the core journals in African Studies?” In Chapter III the reader finds 125 carefully selected journals annotated re scope, frequency, cost circulation, address, etc., arranged by country. These journals are published in 25 countries, including the 10 African countries most active in publishing. “Where can I purchase books published in Africa?” This frequently asked question is addressed by a list of the principal dealers and distributors of African Studies materials in Europe and North America (55) and Africa (43). “Which publishers are most active in publishing Africanist materials?” Zell lists the 85 most significant publishers with African Studies lists, arranged by country. Provided are year founded, editorial requirements, number of Africanist titles in print, and annual number of titles produced.
Also noted are 117 major libraries and documentation centers (outside Africa) for 20 countries, with summary information concerning collections, access policies, services, hours, contact persons, FAX and telephone numbers, etc. Chapter VIII notes the chief Africanist regional and international organizations and refers the reader to other sources for fuller information regarding their activities. Also listed are the world’s most important African Studies associations and societies, again with references to additional sources of information. Chapter IX provides information concerning foundations, donor agencies, and network organizations in African Studies. The book also includes a section on abbreviations and acronyms in African Studies.
Chapter X is devoted to 12 major awards and prizes in the field, with prize winners noted. These lists of award–winning books are themselves highly useful in collection development and reference. Surely librarians receiving this volume will want to check that their collections include those African imprints having won the Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. This distinguished prize, awarded annually since 1980, has succeeded admirably in the aim of its founder, the late Shoichi Noma, for it has indeed stimulated publishing and encouraged reading in Africa.
Hans Zell frequently attends the meetings of the Archives–Libraries Committee of the African Studies Association [U.S.] and of its Bibliography Subcommittee. At these meetings, the Committee regularly discusses reference works in progress and those needed; I believe this present work was developed at least partly in response to such discussions. I appreciate this volume and shall use it constantly, as will all others fortunate in deciding to select it for their collections.
Phyllis B. Bischof is a librarian for African–American and African Collections at the University of California, Berkeley. Active in the African Studies Association, she was from 1984–89 Chair of the Bibliography Subcommittee, and is current Past Chair of the Archives–Libraries Committee. She has been on the Association’s Book Famine Taskforce, and was on the Executive Committee of the Cooperative Africana Microform Project (CAMP) from 1986–90.
© 1990 Phyllis B. Bischof.