Scope and coverage
This bibliography records publications on Africa of interest to students of Africa, principally in the social and environmental sciences, development studies, humanities and arts. Some items from the medical, biological and natural sciences are included. The criterion used is potential relevance to a reader from a social sciences/arts background. The whole continent and associated islands are covered, with selective coverage of the diaspora. This edition aims to cover material published in 2014 together with items from earlier years not previously listed. The editor is always very glad to hear of any items omitted so that they may be included in future volumes. She would be particularly pleased to receive notification of new periodicals, print or online. African government publications and works of creative literature are not normally listed.
The principal sources of data for this volume are the holdings of Cambridge University Library; the African Studies Centre, Cambridge; SOAS, University of London; the Afrika Studiecentrum, Leiden; and material received by the International African Institute. Much of this material, and especially chapters in edited books, has been personally examined by the editor. Additional data has been garnered from other published bibliographies, both print and online, from COPAC, the online union catalogue of the UK's major research libraries, and AJOL (African Journals Online – http://www.ajol.info/), which provides invaluable access to periodicals published in Africa.
Arrangement
The arrangement of the bibliography is by region and country, with a preliminary section for the continent as a whole. Each region or country begins with a General section and then subject fields (see below for list) follow in alphabetical order. Where an item might appear under more than one heading, this is indicated by cross reference (see the ‘see also’ list immediately under each subject heading) or the subject index will guide users to it.
Entry types
The bibliography contains three types of entry: periodical articles, books and pamphlets, and chapters. Book entries give author, title, place, publisher and pagination (but not ISBN numbers or price). Entries for chapters in books largely not on African topics, give full bibliographic information for the volume concerned. However, when a book contains many relevant chapters it is listed separately and the chapter entry includes only a short version of the title, the name(s) of the editor(s), and the entry number of the book itself. An increasing number of periodicals are published in online only formats and in these cases, the url is given.
Indexes
The bibliography has author and subject indexes, which use the entry number to identify relevant items. The first three authors only of multi-authored works are listed. Where an item is sufficiently described by the subject heading, it will not appear in the subject-index. Users are advised to scan broadly. The index will be most useful for those searching under concepts such as Constitution or Structural Adjustment or under the names of ethnic groups and languages. It also makes some use of keywords, often reflecting the vocabulary of the original entry.
Online edition
Africa Bibliography is published simultaneously in print and online editions. The online edition is a fully searchable database of both the current volume and past volumes. The online version consolidates records collected from the bibliography's foundation in 1984 up to the current volume. The result is a rich and interactive resource for scholars interested in the study of Africa. With user-friendly search functionality and links straight to the full-text of articles or library catalogues, and full bibliography reference export tools to bibliographic managers, the online version enables researchers to locate references quickly. Free trials and further information may be found at http://africabibliography.cambridge.org/.
An additional guide to the online version, including on the structure of the bibliography, search and browse options, is available at http://africabibliography.cambridge.org/guideToBibliography.do.
Language coverage
The Africa Bibliography includes items in languages other than English; notably items in French, Portuguese, German, Afrikaans and Italian. From the 2014 volume we are endeavouring to provide expanded coverage of Portuguese entries reflecting the growth and vibrancy of lusophone Africa studies, including for example in Brazil.
From this, the 2014 volume, onwards, Africa Bibliography will include selected items in Swahili. We hope to raise the profile of African language publications across the disciplines and make them accessible as part of a mainstream reference resource in African studies. This initiative, intended as a service to African and Swahili scholarship, also aims to connect the modern online Africa Bibliography with the IAI's historical involvement in the study and promotion of African languages.
Sources for Swahili entries include the journals and books published by the Institute of Kiswahili Research (IKS) (‘TUKI’) at the University of Dar es Salaam; the journal and bibliographies of the Swahili Forum; the web-catalogues of book publishers in East Africa, in particular Mkuki na Nyota Publishers (Dar es Salaam) and Twaweza Communications (Nairobi); and the African Books Collective ‘Books in African languages’ section. Sources consulted include the library catalogues of Kenyatta University library holdings in Swahili (http://library.ku.ac.ke/); SOAS, University of London, and the Columbia University Library resource ‘Swahili on the internet’, http://library.columbia.edu/locations/global/virtual-libraries/african_studies/languages/swahili.html.
Special thanks are due to Chege Githiora, senior lecturer in Swahili at SOAS, University of London, who both gave advice on sources and proofread the Swahili entries; and to Aldin Mutembei at the IKS, University of Dar es Salaam.
