Internet library sub-saharan Africa (ilissAfrica)
Encyclopedia
The internet library sub-saharan Africa (ilissAfrica) is a German Internet portal that offers an integrated access to relevant scientific information resources (conventional and digital) in the field of African Studies
and the region Africa South of the Sahara
. ilissAfrica covers social sciences
, history
, philology
, ethnology
and cultural studies
. The website is presented in German, English and French.
With ilissAfrica users can search databases and library catalogues. They can also look for websites that are relevant for their research interests.
The main modules of ilissAfrica are:
The General Search
A meta search that searches through several databases and library catalogues simultaneously. At present, the following catalogues are integrated:
The Internet Database
So far it contains more than 4500 selected Africa-related Internet links. Built up by the ilissAfrica staff this pool of websites is searchable as the sites are classified, categorised, keyword indexed and provided with an abstract.
The Database for Junior Researchers (at present in German only)
A persons database for junior researchers in the African Studies in Germany. Interested junior researchers can register on the ilissAfrica website. The profiles are globally visible.
The Open Access Guide
A guide for researchers based in Africa with projects offering cheap or free access to databases and e-journals. It has a section on Books for Africa, e.g. where libraries can get book donations or other support.
The Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE)
The Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE)
is a multidisciplinary search engine for open access academic publications. In ilissAfrica a special sub-section of OAI
-repositories on and from Africa has been selected: AJOL, 30 institutional repositories in Africa like SUNScholar, European projects like Cairn, HAL, Gallica
and Persée and important digital libraries of SOAS, LSE, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Harvard Universities. 75% of the indexed documents are on Open Access
. BASE is an example of the potential of the linked web via standardized interfaces. And it helps to increase the visibility of academic knowledge produced and stored in the South.
German and European Collaboration
ilissAfrica is a project of the Africa section of the University Library Frankfurt and the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies in Hamburg. Both are in charge of the German Special Collection "Africa south of the Sahara". It is financed by the German Research Foundation (DFG). ilissAfrica is closely related to the association "European Librarians in African Studies" (ELIAS) as a European network aiming to promote professional exchange and cooperation among its members. The "Africa Section" of the Electronic Journals Library (EZB) was one source for the Wikipedia-article African Studies Journals. ilissAfrica allows the coordinated acquisition of free electronic documents of the partner libraries.
African studies
African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and societies of Africa .The field includes the study of:Culture of Africa, History of Africa , Anthropology of Africa , Politics of Africa, Economy of Africa African studies is the study of Africa, especially the cultures and...
and the region Africa South of the Sahara
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
. ilissAfrica covers social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
, ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
and cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
. The website is presented in German, English and French.
With ilissAfrica users can search databases and library catalogues. They can also look for websites that are relevant for their research interests.
The main modules of ilissAfrica are:
The General Search
A meta search that searches through several databases and library catalogues simultaneously. At present, the following catalogues are integrated:
- the Africa part of the catalogue of the University Library FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
which is in charge of the Special CollectionSpecial collectionsIn library science, special collections is the name applied to a specific repository or department, usually within a library, which stores materials of a "special" nature, including rare books, archives, and collected manuscripts...
Africa South of the SaharaSub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
of the German Research Foundation - the Africa part of the catalogue of the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
which is in charge of the Special Collection Africa South of the SaharaSub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
(grey literature) of the German Research Foundation - the catalogue of the library of the African Studies Centre LeidenAfrika-Studiecentrum, LeidenThe African Studies Centre is an independent scientific institute in the Netherlands that undertakes social-science research on Africa with the aim of promoting a better understanding of historical, current and future social developments in Sub-Saharan Africa. The present director is Ton Dietz...
(the biggest library for scientific Africa literature in the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
) - the catalogue of the Nordic Africa InstituteNordic Africa InstituteNordic Africa Institute serves as a research, documentation and information centre on modern Africa for the Nordic countries. The Institute also encourages research and studies on Africa. The institute was founded in 1962....
library in UppsalaUppsala- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
/Sweden (joint library for the ScandinavianScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
countries) - the catalogue of the library of the Department of Anthropology and African Studies MainzMainzMainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
/Germany (incl. the Jahn Library for African Literatures) - the Retro Catalogue of the University Library Frankfurt (literature that was acquired before 1986)
- the OLC-SSG section “Africa South of the Sahara” (reference to articles of 170 African Studies journals)
- the Internet Database of ilissAfrica
- the Africa section of Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE)BASE (search engine)BASE is a multi-disciplinary search engine to scholarly internet resources, created by Bielefeld University Library in Bielefeld, Germany...
The Internet Database
So far it contains more than 4500 selected Africa-related Internet links. Built up by the ilissAfrica staff this pool of websites is searchable as the sites are classified, categorised, keyword indexed and provided with an abstract.
The Database for Junior Researchers (at present in German only)
A persons database for junior researchers in the African Studies in Germany. Interested junior researchers can register on the ilissAfrica website. The profiles are globally visible.
The Open Access Guide
A guide for researchers based in Africa with projects offering cheap or free access to databases and e-journals. It has a section on Books for Africa, e.g. where libraries can get book donations or other support.
The Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE)
The Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE)
BASE (search engine)
BASE is a multi-disciplinary search engine to scholarly internet resources, created by Bielefeld University Library in Bielefeld, Germany...
is a multidisciplinary search engine for open access academic publications. In ilissAfrica a special sub-section of OAI
Open Archives Initiative
The Open Archives Initiative is an attempt to build a "low-barrier interoperability framework" for archives containing digital content . It allows people to harvest metadata...
-repositories on and from Africa has been selected: AJOL, 30 institutional repositories in Africa like SUNScholar, European projects like Cairn, HAL, Gallica
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
and Persée and important digital libraries of SOAS, LSE, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Harvard Universities. 75% of the indexed documents are on Open Access
Open access
Open access refers to unrestricted access via the Internet to articles published in scholarly journals, and also increasingly to book chapters or monographs....
. BASE is an example of the potential of the linked web via standardized interfaces. And it helps to increase the visibility of academic knowledge produced and stored in the South.
German and European Collaboration
ilissAfrica is a project of the Africa section of the University Library Frankfurt and the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies in Hamburg. Both are in charge of the German Special Collection "Africa south of the Sahara". It is financed by the German Research Foundation (DFG). ilissAfrica is closely related to the association "European Librarians in African Studies" (ELIAS) as a European network aiming to promote professional exchange and cooperation among its members. The "Africa Section" of the Electronic Journals Library (EZB) was one source for the Wikipedia-article African Studies Journals. ilissAfrica allows the coordinated acquisition of free electronic documents of the partner libraries.
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