African Folklore: An Encyclopedia - Marshalls University

African Americans 435
organizations, as well as scholars and researchers have all recognized the need for action
and are making attempts to rescue Africa’s wealth of oral folklore is cause for optimism.
Moreover, new information technologies, including the ability to digitize vast amounts of
data and making them available in the electronic environment, may well turn out to be the
solution. Particularly the increase of wireless technology may enable African librarians to
digitize many of the oral collections and their finding aids, thereby bypassing a lot of the
costs and issues imposed by print formats. This would serve the purposes of providing
accounts of such collections and of preserving Africa’s oral heritage.
References
Alemna, A.A. 1995. The Management of Oral Records by Libraries, Archives, and Other Related
Institutions in Ghana. African Journal of Library, Archives & Information Science 5, no. 2:127–
136.
—. 1992. Towards a New Emphasis on Oral Tradition as an Information Source in African
Libraries. Journal of Documentation 48, no. 4:422–29.
Aleybeleye, B. 1985. Oral Archives in Africa: Their Nature, Value and Accessibility. International
Library Review 17:419–24.
Amadi, A.O. 1981. African Libraries: Western Tradition and Colonial Brain-Washing. New
Jersey: Scarecrow Press.
Baker, Philip. 1987. International Guide to African Studies Research! Études Africaines. Guide
International de Recherches. London: Hans Zell.
French, Tom (ed.). 1993. The SCOLMA Directory of Libraries and Special Collections on Africa in
the United Kingdom and in Europe. London, Melbourne, Munich, New York: Hans Zell.
Gosebrink, Jean E.Meeh, ed. 1986. African Studies Information Resources Directory. Oxford,
London, Munich, New York and Paris: Hans Zell.
Hamilton, C.A. 1989. The Swaziland Oral History Project. History of Africa 14:383–87.
Henige, David. 1989. The Half Life of African Archives. In Africana Resources and Collections:
Three Decades of Development and Achievement, ed. Julian W.Witherell, Metuchen, N.J. and
London: Scarecrow Press.
Iwuji, H.O.M. 1989. Librarianship and Oral Tradition in Africa. International Library Review
21:201–07.
Kagan, Alfred, and Yvette Scheven. 1999. Reference Guide to Africa: a Bibliography of Sources.
Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press.
Mbaye, Saliou. 1990. Oral Records in Senegal. American Archivist, 53, no. 4:566–74.
McIlwaine, John. 1996. Writings on African Archives. London and New Jersey: Hans Zell.
—. 1993. Africa: A Guide to Reference Material. London, New York: Hans Zell.
Msiska, Augustine W.C. 1987. “An Attempt to Establish an Oral History Project in the University
of Zambia Library, Lusaka Campus.” American Archivist, 50, no. 1:142–46.
Ndiaye, Raphael. 1988. Oral Culture and Libraries. IFLA Journal 14, no. 1:40–6.
Pickering, David. 1999. A Dictionary of Folklore. New York: Facts on File.
Studies and Documents (Études et documents.) 1980–1987. Zanzibar: EACROTANAL (Eastern
African Centre for Research on Oral Traditions and African National Languages).
Zell, Hans, and Cecile Lomer. 1997. The African Studies Companion: A Resource Guide &
Directory. London and New Providence, N.J.: Hans Zell.
MARION FRANK-WILSON
See also African Studies Centers and Libraries (Appendix); Institutional Study of
African Folklore