Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa

Hans Zell Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Bibliography

L’ouvrage d’Hans Zell Publishing, Books & Readings in Sub-Saharan Africa  constitue sans nul doute l’outil documentaire le plus complet, que ce soit au niveau de la quantité d’informations à propos des éditeurs et structures du livre en Afrique, ou encore de la fréquence des mises à jour de la version électronique de l’ouvrage.

Le travail bibliographique accompli depuis 1964 par Hans Zell et sur lequel s’appuient aujourd’hui de nombreux spécialistes (non seulement bibliothécaires, mais aussi éditeurs et universitaires) est tout simplement titanesque. Rééditant et mettant sans cesse à jour ses publications, H. Zell inaugure son catalogue dès 1964 en publiant New reference tools for librarians, avant de se spécialiser dans le domaine strictement africain ; ce seront successivement : A reader’s guide to African literature (1971, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1983), The African book World and Press (1977, 1980, 1983, 1989), The African books in print (1975, 1983), The African Studies Companion (1989, 1997, 2003, 2006), Publishing, books & reading in sub-saharian Africa (1996, 2008).

Outre l’ampleur de l’entreprise bibliographique, le catalogue d’Hans Zell possède l’originalité d’avoir intégré la transition numérique au cours des années 2000 pour la mise à jour de ses derniers ouvrages. Ainsi, The African Studies Companion et Publishing, books & reading in sub-saharian Africa, à partir de leurs dernières éditions, sont disponibles en ligne, les versions numériques étant actualisées chaque année.

Alain Ricard écrivait :

« il faudrait plusieurs pages pour indiquer toutes les richesses de ce travail, mais je me contenterai d’en signaler les traits les plus originaux […]. Plusieurs qualités recommandent cet ouvrage à l’attention des chercheurs. La nouvelle formule se signale par son aspect « critique » : l’auteur a consulté et évalué tout ce qu’il liste ! C’est la clé d’un travail efficace : il juge, et indique ce qui est utile. Ce travail est de moins en moins fait à l’époque des bibliographies automatisées … De plus, il est l’œuvre d’un expert incontesté, qui publie depuis près de quarante ans dans ce de domaine et qui a su rester à l’avant-garde de l’innovation technique »

« Études Littéraires africaines » (Association pour l’Étude des Littératures africaines), n°28, décembre 2009.

Edito :

The above new reference resource, a new, completely revised and fully updated edition of a bibliography first published over ten years ago, is now available.
More details, including the complete table of contents and the preface to the new edition, can be found at :

http://www.hanszell.co.uk/cgi-bin/online/pbrssa.shtml

Published in both print and online formats, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Bibliography charts the growth of publishing and book development in the countries of Africa south of the Sahara, as well as containing a large number of entries on many other topics as they relate to books, reading, and the « book chain » in Africa. With over 2,500 critically annotated citations (of which 1,612 are entirely new entries), it is the most complete documentation resource on the current state of the book on the African continent. In addition to including a very substantial number of articles, books, and other new print material published since the first edition appeared in 1996, this new edition now also contains almost 500 entries covering papers, reports, presentations, surveys, e-theses, and other documents that are available online, most of them freely accessible.

Essentially an entirely new reference work, the content and focus of this edition has been considerably recast in several ways. Annotations and abstracts – which are often quite extensive – are now more evaluative rather than descriptive. Much greater emphasis is placed on the relative significance of the material included, thus offering a more critical dimension in reviewing the available literature on the topic. The annotations aim to provide informed commentary and critical analysis, and draw attention to particularly
important contributions to the literature on publishing and the book sector in Africa.

Henry Chakava, one of Africa’s most innovative and most respected publishers, contributes a wide-ranging introductory essay, which offers a succinct state of the art analysis of the African book industry, and writing and reading in Africa today.

In addition to bibliographic citations the book also includes extensive listings of African book professional and allied associations, as well as a directory of international agencies, foundations, networks, and other organizations supporting the book and information sector in Africa, with full address and contact details, email addresses and Web sites.

Hans Zell

« The most complete documentation resource on the state of the book in Africa.
2nd completely revised and expanded edition.
Print & online, continually updated resource.
Online only version now also available as a stand-alone product.
The most complete documentation resource on the state of the book in Africa ».

Continually updated and expanded resource, now containing over 2,700 critically annotated citations ».

Edited by Hans M. Zell
With an introductory essay by Henry Chakava
762 pp. 234x156mm cased
£130.00/€195.00/$260.00, online access bundled with print
ISBN-13: 978-0-9541029-5-1
Published October 2008
Format: Print and online

 

http://www.hanszell.co.uk/