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A Note on the Liberian Archives*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 May 2014

Myles Osborne
Myles Osborne*
Affiliation:
University of Colorado
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Two decades of civil war have left Liberians facing many challenges. One such group includes those concerned with the preservation and maintenance of Liberia's archives, which were severely compromised during the period of conflict. This paper provides a brief introduction for scholars as to the nature of Liberia's archival materials available in-country, the impact of the war on the collections, and details about how scholars interested in the history of Liberia may access these records.

There are three archival collections in Liberia. The first is at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tubman Boulevard, between 12th and 13th Streets. The second is at the Center for National Documents and Records (National Archives) at 96 Ashmun Street, while the third—the Presidential Archives—is at the Executive Mansion on Capitol Hill.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
History in Africa , Volume 36 , 2009, pp. 461 - 463
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2009

Footnotes

*

I am grateful to Dr. Verlon Stone at Indiana University for his assistance in the preparation of this paper, as well as Director-General Philomena Bloh Sayeh at the Center for National Documents and Records (National Archives) for her hospitality in Liberia. Information provided here was based on a research trip undertaken in January 2009 with funding provided by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

1 Foley, David, “Liberia's Archival Collection,” African Studies Bulletin 11(1968), 217–20; Shick, Tom, “A Catalog of the National Archives of the Liberian Government,” HA 3(1976), 193–202; Solomon, Marvin and d'Azevedo, Warren, A General Bibliography of the Republic of Liberia (Evanston, 1962). Also of use is Svend Holsoe's four-volume bibliography of Liberia. See Holsoe, Svend, A Bibliography on Liberia. I. Books (Newark, DE, 1971); idem., A Bibliography on Liberia. II. Publications Concerning Colonization (Newark, DE, 1971); idem., A Bibliography on Liberia. III. Articles (Newark, DE, 1976), 1976); A Bibliography on Liberia. IV. Dissertations and Theses (Newark, DE, 1984). For an excellent reference resource, with an extensive bibliography see Dunn, D. Elwood and Holsoe, Svend, A Historical Dictionary of Liberia (Metuchen, NJ, 1985).

2 The Indiana University Liberian holdings, including the Liberian Collections Project's materials, may be found at www.libraries.iub.edu/index.php?pageId=7821.

* I am grateful to Dr. Verlon Stone at Indiana University for his assistance in the preparation of this paper, as well as Director-General Philomena Bloh Sayeh at the Center for National Documents and Records (National Archives) for her hospitality in Liberia. Information provided here was based on a research trip undertaken in January 2009 with funding provided by the University of Colorado at Boulder.