Nature and accessibility of public archives in the custody of selected national archival institutions in Africa

Abstract

Social scientists and other researchers turn to archives in order to effectively and efficiently contribute to society's knowledge base and social development. The nature of, and access to archives in any part of the world is the business of everyone who is concerned with the utilization of resources in the archives. On the other hand, the promotion of African Studies in many academic institutions all over the world makes the discussion of the nature of, and access to African archives a very worthwhile exercise. The importance of publicizing archival holdings in Africa and abroad has also been underscored by the African Studies Association's History in Africa journal, which has published materials on Africa's archives since 1974 irrespective of where they are located in the world.