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In cooperation with the Title VI National Resource Centers
for African Studies, CAMP has embarked on initiatives to
work together with institutions in Africa to preserve materials
on microfilm for historians in Africa and North America.
History
The African Archives cooperative projects had their start
in 1993, when Dr. Dennis Galvan submitted a proposal to
CAMP to film Senegalese regional court records. Between
1993 and 1995, research and reconnaissance trips to West
Africa by Africana Librarians and historians culminated
in a decision by Title VI Africana librarians (in consultation
with Center directors) to proceed on a pilot project in
cooperation with the National Archives of Senegal.
While the pilot project was an innovation for Title VI
participants, cooperation in collection building and research
services has been the norm among Africana libraries for
many years. This historical foundation of cooperation has
provided the framework for much of the project's development.
Along with this experience with cooperation, Africana librarians
within the Title VI group have the advantage of a well-developed
communications network and an established, collegial 'corporate
culture' of frank and fruitful dialogue.
Over the past several cycles of Title VI funding, the African
NRC's have inserted common language into their proposals
for continued funding of cooperative library projects. While
the language was originally inserted to support the collaboration
with the National Archives of Senegal, the second 3-year
cycle expanded the elements of cooperation to include the
collection of African dissertations. Since then, the Title
VI librarians have included other points of cooperation
for which funds may be committed. Though the funding approved
each year is relatively small per institution, it provides
an opportunity to funnel Title VI funding into projects
that Africana
Librarians Council (ALC) has been cooperating on for
a number of years. For a full description of cooperative
activities, see the report titled "Opportunities and
Challenges in Africana Library Service" at http://people.bu.edu/gwalsh/alc-coop.html.
CAMP/Title VI librarians remain committed to the cooperative
arrangements with the National Archives of Senegal. However,
it was recognized that CAMP and the Title VI libraries need
to consider a broader cooperative effort to support African
capacity-building and broad collaboration with African libraries
and universities in these tasks. Thus in 2004, a task force
was established to investigate other avenues for cooperation.
Several proposals have been considered, including the Liberian
preservation project described above.
Summary of institutional commitments
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