Research, Reference Service, and Resources for the Study of Africa / Edition 1

by Deborah Lafond, Gretchen Walsh

Overview

Experts present proven methods and techniques for studying about or in Africa!

Research, Reference Services, and Resources for the Study of Africa helps you steer clear of washouts, cave-ins, and dead ends on the road to successful research on—or in—Africa. This one-of-a-kind research guide presents practical solutions to frequently occurring problems in the study of Africa, including Internet accessibility problems, errors that will affect a "known item" search, the imposition of colonial legacy, and dealing with gender and class bias. Unlike most references on Africa that concentrate on collection development, this unique book focuses on the study of Africa, making it a must-have for academic librarians, Africanist scholars, and Africana librarians.

Specialists, generalist librarians, and end users all depend on tools designed to provide access to information in libraries and on the web including OPACs databases, and search engines. In this book, these tools, research methods, and the accessibility of information on Africa are examined, offering students and professionals a thorough guide to the most successful researching route.

Research, Reference Services, and Resources for the Study of Africa provides assistance in the research process according to a variety of categories including:

• evaluating OPACs and similar databases for known-item searching
• using keywords, subject headings, bias, indexing, full-text searching, terminology, cataloguing, user-centered information services, and other search strategies to find what you are looking for
• using Internet resources to your advantage
• using the partnerships between the U.S. and African libraries and scholarly institutions to help improve information access
• using techniques for reference librarians to act as a force increasing women’s roles in the study of Africa
• and much more!

Research, Reference Services, and Resources for the Study of Africa offers all the information necessary to avoid research hang-ups that affect the study of Africa, and the necessary information to pass these skills on to students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780789025081
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/28/2004
Series:	A Monograph Published Simultaneously As the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism Series
Pages:	308
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Deborah Lafond, Gretchen Walsh

Table of Contents

• Introduction (Gretchen Walsh and Deborah M. LaFond)
• PART I: AFRICAN STUDIES IN THE UNITED STATES
• "Can We Get There from Here?" Negotiating the Washouts, Cave-Ins, Dead Ends, and Other Hazards on the Road to Research on Africa (Gretchen Walsh)
• Teaching African Studies Bibliography—Information Literacy for 21st Century Scholars (Marion Frank-Wilson)
• Africa Business and Economic Resource Index: Selected Internet Resources (Angel D. Batiste)
• PART II: COLLABORATION AND INNOVATION IN AFRICA AND THE UNITED STATES
• Partnership as a New Paradigm for Reference Librarians in African Studies (Peter Limb)
• Reading African Women’s Writing: The Role of Librarians in Expanding the Canon (Miriam Conteh-Morgan)
• Designing an Anglophone University Undergraduate Library Collection for a Francophone West African Environment (Akilah Shukura Nosakhere)
• Frog Voices, Whispers, and Silences: Problems and Issues in Collecting for an African Studies Library in Africa (Colin Darch)
• Library Capacity Building in Africa or the Exportation of Technolust? Discerning Partnership Models and Revitalization Efforts in the Age of Globalization (Deborah M. LaFond)
• Index
• Reference Notes Included