'Can We Get There from Here?' Negotiating the Washouts, Cave-Ins, Dead Ends, and Other Hazards on the Road to Research on Africa

摘要

This introduction to Africana reference describes the populations of researchers, the kinds of questions they ask, and how librarians-both specialist and generalist-may respond. It explores issues in "known-item" searches, including name authority and access to material in collected works and series. Choices made by authors, publishers, indexers, librarians, and researchers themselves have an impact on topic searches. Terminology for African languages, ethnic groups, place names, and topics cause problems for novice researchers, but library policy decisions can also impede access. Errors of all kinds-minor or major-can block access to information. The speed of electronic desktop publishing seems to have encouraged reduced care with proofreading, indexing, and verification of quotations and citations. The need for accurate information about Africa is great, but the market for publications and electronic resources focused on Africa is relatively small.