"A valuable information resource that provides a country-by-country analysis of the “book chain” in 18 English-speaking Africa countries, together with an annotated directory of the major players that make up the book chain within those countries. Four introductory essays provide overviews of bo
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ok and library development in anglophone Africa from different perspectives. These are followed by country surveys, each prepared by a book professional from the country concerned, most of them librarians. The final section, a 170-page Directory of Selected Organizations in the Book Chain in Anglophone Africa, provides listings of the major players in the book chain in each of the countries covered, including professional associations, major publishers, printers, booksellers and libraries; regional and international bodies supporting book development, and training institutions for librarianship and the book industries. Each entry gives full address, telephone and fax numbers, email addresses (and Web sites for some), and many entries include a short description." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 196)
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"The synthesis of literature quoted in the bibliography and the country reports portrays the public library movement in Africa as being very weak, with numerous problems regarding financial constraints, lack of human resources, outdated materials and poor use. The only sector of the African populati
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on that uses public libraries is school children. However, each country report illustrated that children do not use the materials held in the library but use libraries primarily as places for study, because they are quieter and more spacious than their homes. The consensus of opinion seems to be that African librarians need to rethink what a public library is all about, in terms of what is needed, what will be used, and what is sustainable in Africa. Perhaps some new and more viable visions will result. In particular, public libraries in Africa need to start to be more aggressive and introduce services that are attractive to the users. Librarians must begin to know their potential users, and not only assume that they are school children. More dynamism and more involvement of the user community, extended to all users - school children, adults, literates, non-literates and neo-literates - are required for the improvement of public library services." (Synthesis Report Abstract, page 3)
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