Databases & Article Indexes
Africa-focused Bibliographic Databases
- International African Bibliography (IABO)Covers 1971-present. De Gruyter, in cooperation with Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
- AfricaBib (aka Bullwinkle)Free online index to African studies journals, created by Davis Bullwinkle, now hosted by the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL). Combines several databases:
• AfricaBib : the general database, 242K+ records.
• Africana Periodical Literature. Includes Library of Congress's Quarterly Index of African Periodical Literature (1991-2011), and ASCL's African Studies Abstracts Online (1950s-2017).
• African Women.
• Women Travelers to Africa.
• Islam in Africa.
• Kenya Coast.
• Water and Africa.
• Education in Africa. - Africa BibliographyCovers 1984-present. Cambridge University Press for International African Institute (UK). Focuses on social and environmental sciences, development studies, humanities and arts, with some coverage of the medical, biological and natural sciences. Indexes periodical articles, books and pamphlets, and chapters.
• Africa Bibliography (1984-2020). Online version of print annual volumes.
• Africa (1928-current). Pre-1984 issues include "Bibliography of current publications". - African Studies Centre Leiden catalogueThe ASCL library catalogue combines bibliographic records for books and for articles in journals to which ASCL subscribes. The library catalogue is strong social sciences and history, and reflects the status of the ASCL Library as one of the top few African studies libraries in the world.
• ASCL Library Catalogue Thesaurus. Useful for identifying journal article subject terms in the catalogue.
Specialized Databases with African Studies Content
- Database of African Theses and Dissertations and Research (DATAD-R)Produced by the Association of African Universities. A digital repository for dissertations and theses produced or held at African higher education institutions, documents from the AAU, and scholarly output from Africa Centers of Excellence.
- African Index Medicus (AIM)Produced by the World Health Organization and Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA). An international index to African health and medical literature.
- National Museum of African Art Library catalog (SIRIS)This library catalog includes articles from journals to which the NMAA Library subscribes.
HINT. At the SIRIS search page, be sure to set the location limiter to "African Art Library". - The Bibliography of Slaving and World SlaveryA bibliography identifying all known printed scholarly materials on slavery since 1900 as well as digitally-available journal articles.
General Databases with African Subject Content
Major Primary Source Collections
- Decolonization: Politics and Independence in Former Colonial and Commonwealth TerritoriesPamphlets, research papers, and documents from political organizations and trade unions in African colonies and successor independent nations, 1898-2017.
- Anthropological Fieldwork OnlineIncludes the Victor Turner, Max Gluckman, and Charles Seligman papers and selected UK Colonial Office and other agency records.
- Europe and Africa : Commerce, Christianity, Civilization, and Conquest(19th Century Collections Online)
- Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (Wiley Digital Archives)Travel accounts ... and many, many maps.
- Mapping the World : Maps and Travel Literature(19th Century Collections Online)
- Environmental Science and History (Wiley Digital Archives)Digitized materials on deforestation, agriculture, livestock, and fisheries (food production); ecology, botany, biodiversity, and extinction; water sources, irrigation, wetlands, and hydrology from C.A.B. International (formerly Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux), Commonwealth Forestry Institute (University of Oxford), Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew), and National Archives UK.
E-book Collections
- ACLS Humanities E-Book
- African Writers Series
- Anthropology Online
- Black Women Writers
- eHRAF Collection of Ethnography
- Ethnographic Survey of Africa
- African Language Materials Archive
- African Ajami Library
- Onitsha Market Literature
- World Bank E-Library
- Christian Mission - Boston University Digital Common
- South African Poetry, 1834-Present (LION)
Online Reference Works
Guides to the Literature + Annotated Bibliographies
- EJAB : Electronic Journal of Africana BibliographyEach issue of this refereed open access journal is an annotated bibliography or bibliographic essay. See especially:
• "African ethnonyms and toponyms : an annotated bibliography" / Atoma Batoma. EJAB 10 (2006).
• "Guides, collections and ancillary materials to African archival resources in the United States" / John Bruce Howell & Yvette Scheven. EJAB 1 91997).
Encyclopedias (General on Africa)
History + Politics Reference Works
- Africa South of the Sahara (Europa World Year Book)
- Africa Yearbook Online (Brill, 2004- )
- Cambridge History of Africa and UNESCO General History of Africa
- Oxford Handbook of Modern African History
- Cambridge History of South Africa
- The History of African Development (AEHN open textbook)
Geography Reference Works
Literature + Arts Reference
- Cambridge Companion to the African Novel
- Cambridge History of African and Caribbean Literature
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English (LION)
- Africa Book Link - New African literature, drama & criticism
- Cinemas d'Afrique: l'encyclopedie du film africain
- Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online
Anthropology Reference Works
- Ethnographic Survey of AfricaA monograph series published for the International African Institute, 1950-1977.
Religion Reference Works
Related Research Guides
- 20th Century African History and Politics
- Health and Society in Africa
- Food (In)security, Famine and Drought in Africa (ASC Leiden web dossier)
- Christian Missions in Africa
- Indian Ocean
- Islam in sub-Saharan Africa (ASC Leiden web dossier)
- Middle East/North Africa (MENA) and Sub-Saharan Africa Business and Internet Archive version
- China in Africa
- China in Africa (ASC Leiden web dossier)
Librarian & Coordinator of Social Sciences Collections
Lauris Olson
Contact:
University of Pennsylvania Libraries
203 Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
University of Pennsylvania
3420 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206
U.S.A.
203 Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
University of Pennsylvania
3420 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206
U.S.A.
215-898-0119
Website