ReferencesWho’s Who in Library & Information Science Training Institutions in Africa. Edited by L. O. Aina. Ibadan, Nigeria: Archlib and Information Services, Ltd., 1991. viii, 56 p. ISBN 978‑31413‑0‑9. Price not given.
This publication is not only timely but perhaps the first of its kind in Africa. It is timely because African librarianship has come of age. Gone are the days when Africans had to travel to Europe, America, or other parts of the world to be trained as librarians. There is professional training available locally now, with curricular content that does not have to copy from library education programs elsewhere. The situation harmonizes with IFLA’s statement that “each country should decide for itself what kinds of librarians and information specialists it needs—and having decided that, what kind of training such persons ought to have.” [1]
Biographies of 124 persons form the main section of this book. Full details of life and career are given for about three‑fourths of the individuals, with short notices for the others. Considering the nature of postal services in Africa, one could safely say that the production of the book has been a great success.
A very useful reference section on library education in English‑speaking Africa follows the biographies. It lists 20 training institutions—in Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—together with characteristics of their various library degree and certificate programmes. There is also a list of the teachers by their areas of expertise, but this seems to be incomplete and in some cases misleading.
Timely as it is, the book already needs updating. One lecturer on the Ahmadu Bello University list has died and two others are no longer there. At least four of the persons listed for the University of Maiduguri are no longer there. A number of recent staff additions are not included.
Despite these few reservations, this Who’s Who fills a gap in African library literature. It should be on the shelf of every librarian and student in Africa, and is recommended for acquisition by libraries and library schools throughout the world.
1. “Standards for Library Schools,” IFLA Journal 2‑4 (1976): 209.
Benki S. H. Womboh is now a Collection Development Librarian, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria. For biographical information see TWL 2‑2.
© 1993 Dominican University
Citation
Womboh, Benki S. H., “Book Review: Who’s Who in Library & Information Science Training Institutions in Africa” Third World Libraries, Volume 3, Number 2 (Fall 1993).