German, Italian, and Portuguese are collected selectively. Swahili, Hausa, Wolof, and Lingala are collected intensively. Language learning materials, including literary works, are collected for 150 African languages. The concentration is on sub-Saharan Africa. We are also interested in publications which deal with the Third World and the Commonwealth.
Emphasis is on scholarly treatment rather than popularization, textbooks, and children's literature.
The Undergraduate Library normally collects more popular treatments and the Education and Social Sciences Library collects children's literature for its School Collection. Africana sees its particular function as the identification and procurement of research reports, monographs, serials and government publications which are not readily available from standard book trade sources. New and revised editions or important works are purchased when new explanatory or primary material is introduced. Emphasis is placed on the output from sub-Saharan countries.