African documentation in the Netherlands, and possibilities for European cooperation: the Library and Documentation Department of the Afrika-Studiecentrum, Leiden

This article provides brief background information on the Afrika-Studiecentrum (African Studies Centre, ASC) in Leiden, the Netherlands, its origins, aims, organizational structure and research activities, followed by a more detailed description of the Library and Documentation Department of the ASC, paying attention to the function of the library and the nature of its collection, acquisitions policy, catalogues and documentation. The origins, contents, arrangement, coverage and distribution of the quarterly abstracts journal, ‘Documentatieblad’, are explained. This is followed by a look at possibilities for European cooperation in the field of African documentation. This is the text of a talk given at the SCOLMA (Standing Conference on Library Materials on Africa) annual general meeting held in London on June 1, 1992.