The Specialised Information Service (German: Fachinformationsdienst, FID) for African Studies focuses on the acquisition of literature published on the African continent. The acquisition of this hard-to-procure literature is intended to make African academic debates more visible in Germany in order to facilitate genuine scholarly exchange and research collaboration. In addition to printed monographs and journals, so-called “grey literature” is also purchased (in part via book acquisition trips) and e-books from African publishers are licensed.
The FID African Studies has established a new information and reference platform, africanstudieslibrary.org, on which academic resources and holdings are aggregated. This subject-specific information infrastructure as well as the integration of further data collections are being continually expanded. In this context, one focus is the automation and validation of data imports and exports. Another focus is the implementation of feedback from the academic community on the user experience of the portal based on results of the usability study and the FID roadshows. This involves adjusting the user interface and creating the option of logging in via Shibboleth in addition to the ORCID-based login. In order to improve the search options, a geographically explorative search will be implemented, which will make it possible to find publications by region and topic. In addition, users will be able to place interlibrary loan and Subito orders directly from the portal.
Other activities include engaging regularly with the academic community and collaboration with additional stakeholders on the African continent and beyond. Collaboration with the research community is central to raising awareness of the services, but also to identifying their present and future requirements. Through the renewal of the portal, through information infrastructure coordination and support services, and by providing specialized literature from Africa, the Specialised Information Service for African Studies contributes to the sustainability of area studies subjects which form part of the German Federal Government’s strategy for international collaboration in academic research.
African Studies Library: https://africanstudieslibrary.org
Contact: Dr. Aïsha Othman
Institution: Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
e-mail: fid-afrikastudien@ub.uni-frankfurt.de
Funding: DFG, 2016-2026
