Coverage of materials published in Sierra Leone and the Gambia by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies has not been an exercise that can be described as an outstanding success. The Institute itself is a small organisation which is reflected in the size of its library and budget and acquisition of materials under the SCOLMA specialisation scheme has been limited to the range of subjects normally covered by library policy. These are the social and-political sciences, history since 1850 and bibliography, and the normal methods of selection via bibliographies and publishers' lists and purchase through local booksellers are the methods of operation. Budgets as small as ours do not offer the luxury of blanket orders through American dealers though we would probably achieve a greater measure of success if we could afford them.