Examines the involvement of public and village libraries in literacy and postliteracy programs in Africa south of the Sahara during the last two decades. Issues discussed include the extent of illiteracy in Black Africa, populations served by village libraries, African rural strategies of development, and the implications for library services. (44…

This paper describes the situation of the information user in the developing countries of Africa; discusses the role of information resources in national development; delineates the most important functions of national libraries with respect to information dissemination and information utilization; explores the relationship between financial…

Using the UNESCO Public Library Manifesto as a basis for discussion, this paper examines the role of the public library within developing countries and reviews the major developments in public library services in Africa subsequent to the two UNESCO seminars on Public Library Development held in Nigeria in 1962. A number of key statements from the…

Formed by a merger of two existing UNESCO programs--NATIS and UNISIST--a Division of the General Information Program (PGI) was created in 1977 to respond to problems involved in the development and promotion of scientific and technological information systems and services, as well as the development of national information infrastructures. This…

Using the situation in West Africa as an example, this paper examines the role and the problems of libraries in developing countries; a problem approach, rather than a country-by-country survey, has been employed. The paper is divided into three major sections: (1) a review of colonial influence, discussing British and French attitudes towards…

The aim of this seminar was twofold: to make senior civil servants of Zimbabwe aware of the importance of information and documentation for planning and decision-making, and to introduce the concept of a national information and documentation center (NIDC) as designed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Pan-African Documentation…

Seven papers delivered at the 1992 International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions annual meeting relating to regional activities are presented. These papers deal with library issues in Africa, Asia and Oceania, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The papers are: (1) "Designing National Information Policies in African: Process…

Contained in this collection of presentations from the third Afro-Nordic Library Conference are a foreword describing the objectives of the meeting and 14 papers: "From Oral Tradition to Literary Writing: The Awakening of National Awareness," by Heikki Kirkinen; "African Library Systems," by L. E. Samarasinghe; "Planning…

Remarks by Dr. John Brademas, President of New York University, address the meeting theme--"Libraries and the Universal Availability of Information"--with special attention to research libraries and their service to scholars, the quality of public and school libraries, the plight of non-readers, the role of governments in supporting…

Discusses the need for a National Information Documentation Centre (NIDOC) in Nigeria. Topics addressed include functions of NIDOC, the location of NIDOC, including the role of the National Library; results of user studies; information storage and retrieval; library staff requirements and training; and access to national information sources. (17…