Libraries

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African-American and
Africana Studies Collection

OVERVIEW NEWS PLATFORMS AND SOURCES OPEN ACCESS DATABASES AND DIRECTORIES DIGITAL ARCHIVES, LIBRARIES AND REPOSITORIES CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS OTHER RESOURCES


This collection offers resources covering the African Sub-Saharan region, African-American communities and the African Diaspora. Whether you're a student, faculty member, a scholar, or simply curious about the region, you'll find various resources here.

Resource Types:


  • News platforms and sources:Stay updated on current events and perspectives from the African-American Community, African Sub-Saharan Region and its Diaspora.
  • Open access databases and directories: Access a wide range of scholarly articles, research papers, and other digital resources.
  • Digital archives, libraries, and repositories: Explore historical documents, photographs, and other primary sources.
  • Civil society organizations: If you want to learn more about what local people think about their challenges and how they address them, learn about the work of NGOs and grassroots initiatives in the region.
  • Other resources: Discover a variety of other valuable materials, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and almanacs.

Key Benefits for Your Research and Studies


  • Global Perspectives: Whether you’re looking to understand the history, culture, politics, or social dynamics of African-American Communities, the Sub-Saharan Region, and African Diaspora Communities, this collection gives you access to a broad range of viewpoints. Gain insight into both local realities and global connections that shape these regions.
  • Diverse Languages: Access resources in English and original languages spoken within the African continent and by Afrodescendant Communities, such as French, Portuguese, and Yoruba.
  • Coverage: Discover materials related to the African Sub-Saharan region, African-American communities, and African Diaspora Communities.

If you have resources that could add value to this collection, please send them to areastudies@wiu.edu. We'll review them to ensure they fit our collection development policies. Thank you for your contribution!

This section provides information on News platforms and sources with related links.

  • Africa News

    • Provides coverage of news and events across Africa


  • Africa Past and Present

    • Africa Past and Present is a podcast about history, culture, and politics in Africa and the diaspora. Launched in 2008 at Michigan State University by historians Peter Alegi and Peter Limb, it is the longest-running African studies podcast in the world. Monthly episodes feature interviews with scholars and practitioners from a wide range of academic disciplines and perspectives.


  • Africanews

    • Africanews aims to support a Rising Africa, empowering audiences by providing access to reliable and independent news from local, national, and global sources.


  • Al Jazeera

    • Qatar-based news organization covering global events


  • AllAfrica

    • AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing news and information from over 140 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. AllAfrica's multi-channel platform is the only independent, comprehensive pan-African news source, with unrivaled reach and reputation.


  • BBC World Service

    • Offers news from around the world with a focus on impartiality and diversity


  • France 24

    • French international news channel covering global events with a focus on France and Africa


  • Human Rights Watch

    • International non-governmental organization focusing on human rights


    This section provides information on open access journals.

  • Nation.Africa

    • Nation.Africa is Africa's leading independent media brand, focused on informing, educating, and engaging its audience across the continent. They deliver diverse content, from breaking news to in-depth research, reaching both urban and rural communities. Driven by shared values, their team is dedicated to empowering their audience through quality journalism and information.


  • RT TV

    • Russian international television network


  • The Guardian

    • British news organization with a global reach, offering diverse perspectives on international affairs


  • TRT World

    • Turkish international news platform


This section provides information on open access journals.

  • Academic Journals

    • Academic Journals is a publisher of peer-reviewed open access journals. It aim to accelerate the dissemination of knowledge through the publication of high quality research articles using the open access model.


  • Africa Cartoons

    • An educational encyclopedia of African political cartooning and cartoonists


  • Open Data for Africa - African Development Bank Group

    • Database organized by topic, region and country. This database is created by the African Development Bank Group


  • African Digital Research Repositories

    • Directory of repositories in Africa


  • African Economic History Network (AEHN)

    • AEHN is an initiative intended to foster communication, collaboration and research as well as teaching amongst scholars studying the long-term development of sub-Saharan Africa, from the pre-colonial era to the present-day. It also provides a unique opportunity to strengthening African economic history by providing primary data sets


  • African Education Research Database

    • AERD is a curated collection of research undertaken in the past decade by scholars based in sub-Saharan Africa


  • African Minds

    • African Minds is an open access, not-for-profit, publisher of scholarly books. African Minds publishes predominantly in the social sciences and its authors are typically African academics or those with a close affinity with the continent..


  • African Woman

    • African Woman is a bibliographic database that indexes six types of materials: books and government documents; articles appearing in edited books; periodical and journal articles; Masters theses and Ph.D. dissertations as well as a few B.A. theses and honors papers; conference papers; and videocassettes


  • AfricArXiv

    • A preprint repository for open access research outputs from Africa.


  • AJOL (African Journals Online)

    • A database providing access to over 500 open access, peer-reviewed journals published in Africa.


  • ASKIA

    • This portal is set up by UNECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa). It contains socioeconomic publications which cover the African continent


  • Bibliography of Africana Periodical Literature Database (AfricaBib)

    • AfricaBib is a collection of Africana social science titles, presented in one easily accessible location on the internet.


  • CELL5M: A Multidisciplinary Geospatial Database for Africa South of the Sahara

    • The CELL5M database provides a platform for cross-cutting spatial analyses and fine-grain visualization of the mix of farming systems and populations across sub-Saharan Africa


  • Connecting-Africa

    • Connecting-Africa is a gateway to African research information produced worldwide. It provides access to 94245 publications from 100 repositories. All publications originate from these repositories.


  • Data Africa

    • An open data platform designed to provide information on key themes for research and development such as: agriculture, climate, poverty and child health across Africa South of the Sahara at the sub-national level


  • DATAD (Database of African Theses and Dissertations)

    • A database providing access to open access theses and dissertations from African universities.


  • Directory of Data Repositories in Africa

    • A directory pf databases storing research datasets on countries in Africa


  • Education in Africa

    • A sub-database of AfricaBib database that contains materials on Education


  • Islam in Africa

    • A sub-database of AfricaBib database that contains materials on Islam in Africa


  • Open Data for Africa - African Development Bank Group

    • Database organized by topic, region and country. This database is created by the African Development Bank Group


  • Open Research Africa

    • An open access publishing platform for research funded by the African Academy of Sciences.


  • Pan African Medical Journal (PAMJ) - One Health

    • A publishing platform publishing articles showcasing and advancing One Health practice and research in Africa (and beyond)


  • Water and Africa

    • A sub-database of AfricaBib database that contains materials on Islam in Africa


  • Women Travelers to Africa

    • This is a sub-database of the AfricaBib database that contains a comprehensive bibliography on women travelers and explorers to Africa.


This section provides links for websites on open access Archives, Digital Libraries and Repositories

All
Archives
Digital Libraries
Repositories

Archives:

  • African Activist Archive

    • The African Activist Archive is preserving and making available online the records of activism in the United States to support the struggles of African peoples against colonialism, apartheid, and social injustice from the 1950s through the 1990s. - A project of Michigan State University


  • African Media Program

    • AMP offers an online, comprehensive database of films, videos, and other audio-visual materials concerning Africa as well as education services about African media - A project of Michigan State University


  • Archives Africa online catalogue

    • A project modelled after the AIM25 initiative, aiming to link the archives of all African countries


  • Images of the Past in West Africa

    • The site presents hundreds of old postcards and period photos accompanied by their original captions and, when possible, comments on their historical context or literary references on the subject


Digital Libraries:

  • African Ajami Library (AAL)

    • AAL is a collaborative initiative between Boston University and the West African Research Center (WARC) in part funded by the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme. The AAL is envisioned as a continental open access public repository of aggregated Ajami texts from non-Europhone Africa


  • Africa Music Library

    • This library aims to document all music made in Africa, artist metadata, instruments, books, and articles that reference music in Africa


  • African Online Digital Library

    • AODL is an open access digital library of African cultural heritage materials created by Michigan State University in collaboration with museums, archives, scholars, and communities around the world. - A project of Michigan State University


  • Africa Past and Present

    • Africa Past and Present is a podcast about history, culture, and politics in Africa and the diaspora - A project of Michigan State University


  • Internet Library Sub-Saharan Africa (ilissafrica)

    • A digital library containing research, books, databases among others from Sub-Saharan Africa


  • OER Africa

    • OER Africa is a Saide initiative undertaking collaborative work to develop the professional competences and skills of stakeholders within African higher education institutions, so that they can implement OER practices to improve the quality of teaching and learning.


  • Tombouctou Manuscripts Project

    • The Tombouctou Manuscripts Project was established to research and document manuscript traditions in Africa


  • African National Legal Information (AfricanLII)

    • AfricanLII is an open-access research platform for African law jointly operated by the AfricanLII programme of the University of Cape Town and Laws.Africa. AfricanLII publishes the law and policy of the African Union and federates search across all open access African national law available through the Open Law Africa community of LIIs


  • African Oral Narratives

    • Open access digital library containing 6 collections of oral and life histories, folklore, and songs from Ethiopia, Ghana, and South Africa - A project of Michigan State University


  • The African Digital Health Library (ADHL)

    • The African Digital Health Library (ADHL) is a collaborative effort among medical librarians at 6 universities in sub Saharan Africa. ADHL hosts research carried out in the country and includes theses, dissertations, Ministry of Health reports, etc.


Repositories:

  • African Union Common Repository

    • A repository that collects, organizes and preserves material pertaining to the OAU/AU heritage


  • African Veterinary Information Portal (AfriVIP)

    • Institutional repository containing Open Education Resources (OER) and that carry an open license (Creative Commons), allowing them to be freely copied, distributed, and adapted without asking copyright permission


  • African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) Online Repository (AfriREP)

    • AfriRep is an open-source African feminist knowledge hub. It contains materials that range from research articles, Women Rights Organisations (WROs) reports and unpublished dissertations to toolkits on capacity building, lessons from feminist convenings and AWDF publications.


  • Afrischolar Discovery Repository

    • This repository aims to collect research from around the world and make them available for scholars globally


  • Afronomics Law Repository

    • The repository contains cases, documents, bibliographies and materials on International Economic Law relating to Africa and the Global South with a view to making these materials easily and freely accessible


  • Africa Portal

    • The Africa Portal is a research repository and an expert analysis hub on African affairs. The Africa Portal is a project of the South African Institute of International Affairs(SAIIA)


  • East African Community (EAC) Information Repository

    • Information Repository is a one-stop-shop platform of digital information and knowledge generated by EAC Organs and Institutions in execution of their various mandates


  • Howard University - Africa-Related Dissertations Database

    • This Howard University database contains Africa-Related Dissertations by its students


  • ISDA-Africa

    • Open access soil data for Africa


  • Pan African University

    • A repository containing publications from Pan African University institutes


  • Open Africa

    • openAFRICA aims to be the largest independent repository of open data on the African continent


  • Open Law Africa

    • Open Law Africa is a project seeking to achieve open access to law for everyone in Africa. It is worked on by a collection of academics, lawyers, judicial officers, government printers, NGOs, international funders and human rights activists working independently and collaboratively.


  • Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) Digital Repository

    • A repository that collects, organizes and preserves material pertaining to the OAU/AU heritage


  • Repository on Disability Rights in Africa (RODRA)

    • The repository preserves and shares up to date open access documents on disability rights which will include amongst others; legislation, policy, court decisions and published research by both research institutions and civil society organizations


  • sourceAFRICA

    • sourceAFRICA is Africa’s premier repository for “actionable documents”, i.e. documents that the public need to help make more informed decisions, or that help civic watchdogs such as the media or social justice NGOs substantiate their reportage, or documents that have been suppressed or censored elsewhere


  • African Activist Archive

    • The African Activist Archive is preserving and making available online the records of activism in the United States to support the struggles of African peoples against colonialism, apartheid, and social injustice from the 1950s through the 1990s. - A project of Michigan State University


  • African Media Program

    • AMP offers an online, comprehensive database of films, videos, and other audio-visual materials concerning Africa as well as education services about African media - A project of Michigan State University


  • Archives Africa online catalogue

    • A project modelled after the AIM25 initiative, aiming to link the archives of all African countries


  • Images of the Past in West Africa

    • The site presents hundreds of old postcards and period photos accompanied by their original captions and, when possible, comments on their historical context or literary references on the subject


  • African Ajami Library (AAL)

    • AAL is a collaborative initiative between Boston University and the West African Research Center (WARC) in part funded by the British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme. The AAL is envisioned as a continental open access public repository of aggregated Ajami texts from non-Europhone Africa


  • Africa Music Library

    • This library aims to document all music made in Africa, artist metadata, instruments, books, and articles that reference music in Africa


  • African Online Digital Library

    • AODL is an open access digital library of African cultural heritage materials created by Michigan State University in collaboration with museums, archives, scholars, and communities around the world. - A project of Michigan State University


  • Africa Past and Present

    • Africa Past and Present is a podcast about history, culture, and politics in Africa and the diaspora - A project of Michigan State University


  • Internet Library Sub-Saharan Africa (ilissafrica)

    • A digital library containing research, books, databases among others from Sub-Saharan Africa


  • OER Africa

    • OER Africa is a Saide initiative undertaking collaborative work to develop the professional competences and skills of stakeholders within African higher education institutions, so that they can implement OER practices to improve the quality of teaching and learning.


  • Tombouctou Manuscripts Project

    • The Tombouctou Manuscripts Project was established to research and document manuscript traditions in Africa


  • African National Legal Information (AfricanLII)

    • AfricanLII is an open-access research platform for African law jointly operated by the AfricanLII programme of the University of Cape Town and Laws.Africa. AfricanLII publishes the law and policy of the African Union and federates search across all open access African national law available through the Open Law Africa community of LIIs


  • African Oral Narratives

    • Open access digital library containing 6 collections of oral and life histories, folklore, and songs from Ethiopia, Ghana, and South Africa - A project of Michigan State University


  • The African Digital Health Library (ADHL)

    • The African Digital Health Library (ADHL) is a collaborative effort among medical librarians at 6 universities in sub Saharan Africa. ADHL hosts research carried out in the country and includes theses, dissertations, Ministry of Health reports, etc.


  • African Union Common Repository

    • A repository that collects, organizes and preserves material pertaining to the OAU/AU heritage


  • African Veterinary Information Portal (AfriVIP)

    • Institutional repository containing Open Education Resources (OER) and that carry an open license (Creative Commons), allowing them to be freely copied, distributed, and adapted without asking copyright permission


  • African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) Online Repository (AfriREP)

    • AfriRep is an open-source African feminist knowledge hub. It contains materials that range from research articles, Women Rights Organisations (WROs) reports and unpublished dissertations to toolkits on capacity building, lessons from feminist convenings and AWDF publications.


  • Afrischolar Discovery Repository

    • This repository aims to collect research from around the world and make them available for scholars globally


  • Afronomics Law Repository

    • The repository contains cases, documents, bibliographies and materials on International Economic Law relating to Africa and the Global South with a view to making these materials easily and freely accessible


  • Africa Portal

    • The Africa Portal is a research repository and an expert analysis hub on African affairs. The Africa Portal is a project of the South African Institute of International Affairs(SAIIA)


  • East African Community (EAC) Information Repository

    • Information Repository is a one-stop-shop platform of digital information and knowledge generated by EAC Organs and Institutions in execution of their various mandates


  • Howard University - Africa-Related Dissertations Database

    • This Howard University database contains Africa-Related Dissertations by its students


  • ISDA-Africa

    • Open access soil data for Africa


  • Pan African University

    • A repository containing publications from Pan African University institutes


  • Open Africa

    • openAFRICA aims to be the largest independent repository of open data on the African continent


  • Open Law Africa

    • Open Law Africa is a project seeking to achieve open access to law for everyone in Africa. It is worked on by a collection of academics, lawyers, judicial officers, government printers, NGOs, international funders and human rights activists working independently and collaboratively.


  • Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) Digital Repository

    • A repository that collects, organizes and preserves material pertaining to the OAU/AU heritage


  • Repository on Disability Rights in Africa (RODRA)

    • The repository preserves and shares up to date open access documents on disability rights which will include amongst others; legislation, policy, court decisions and published research by both research institutions and civil society organizations


  • sourceAFRICA

    • sourceAFRICA is Africa’s premier repository for “actionable documents”, i.e. documents that the public need to help make more informed decisions, or that help civic watchdogs such as the media or social justice NGOs substantiate their reportage, or documents that have been suppressed or censored elsewhere


This section provides information on civil society organizations and links to their websites or resources.

  • African Community and Conservation Foundation

    • This is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Africa's wildlife and supporting transformative community programs. Their mission is to protect key African wilderness areas while empowering the communities living alongside them, aiming for a future where people and wildlife coexist sustainably. ACCF partners with distinguished nonprofits to raise awareness and funding for impactful conservation and community projects across Africa.


  • Equality Rights Africa Organization

    • It is the grassroot Transgender and diverse marginalized youth focused human rights Civil Society Organization of Africa, that’s resisting against law that are discriminative to the rights of Africa Transgender and amplifying the voice of vulnerable diverse youth.


  • For Afrika

    • It was founded on Christian values and is committed to serving Africa's people without discrimination based on race, religion, gender, or politics. Initially focused on providing lifesaving nutritional relief, the organization has expanded to offer localized program interventions in six African countries: Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, and Uganda. Over the past three decades, they have achieved significant milestones in their mission to uplift and support communities across the continent.


  • Initiative for the Development of Africa

    • The Association aims to give expression to the obligation to help develop Africa as to promote, through business, cultural activities, IDA Clubs and committees, the principles of a better world and to help protect human dignity and solidarity, and contributes, through international cooperation, to the development of the African Continent.


  • Together for Girls

    • This is a global organization dedicated to ending violence against children and adolescents through data-driven advocacy, prevention, and response initiatives. By generating comprehensive data, they work to understand where and how violence occurs, shaping evidence-based solutions to prevent and respond to abuse. The organization also drives advocacy campaigns, amplifying survivors' voices and working with governments and partners to implement policies that promote healing, justice, and sustainable change for children worldwide.


  • Women and Law in Southern Africa

    • Women and Law in Southern African Research and Education Trust (WLSA) Zimbabwe started as a local Chapter of a sub-regional network in 1989. The network member countries include Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia.The purpose of the network is to contribute to sustained well-being of women and girl children through action-oriented research in the socio-legal field and advocating for women’s rights.


  • Youth Alliance for Leadership and Development in Africa

    • This is a global organization dedicated to ending violence against children and adolescents through data-driven advocacy, prevention, and response initiatives. By generating comprehensive data, they work to understand where and how violence occurs, shaping evidence-based solutions to prevent and respond to abuse. The organization also drives advocacy campaigns, amplifying survivors' voices and working with governments and partners to implement policies that promote healing, justice, and sustainable change for children worldwide.


This section provides information on African reference materials and other resources.

  • African Union

    • The African Union (AU) is a continental organization comprising 55 African countries, established in 2002 to foster economic development and political integration across the continent. It aims to promote unity, peace, and stability, while defending the sovereignty and rights of its member states. Guided by Agenda 2063, the AU seeks to transform Africa into a global powerhouse through initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and major infrastructure projects. The AU operates through various organs, including the Assembly of Heads of State and Government and the AU Commission.