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Digitisation at the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies: A consideration of processes and outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2022

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From its inception, the goal of the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University has been to collect as comprehensively as possible materials from and related to Africa, regardless of subject. Due to this comprehensive collection policy, the library contains many materials that are not readily available at other institutions in the United States, Europe or Africa, as was made evident by last year's SCOLMA presentation on materials on sport at the Herskovits Library.

Starting in the mid-1990s, the Herskovits Library began to consider digitising portions of its unique resources, not only to better serve its local community of researchers on the Northwestern University campus but remote users as well, regardless of location. Along with increased availability, such digitisation would support broader access to primary resources in African studies, leading to expanded research as well as enhanced teaching and curriculum enrichment, especially for undergraduate students.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2012

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Footnotes

1

Michelle Guittar is Social Sciences Librarian at Northeastern Illinois University and David L. Easterbrook is the George & Mary LeCron Foster Curator at the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University.

References

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